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THE 


ENGLISH   LANGUAGE 

ITS  GRAMMAR,  HISTORY 
AND  LITERATURE 


BY 


J.  M.  D.  MEIKLEJOHN,   M.A. 

PROFESSOR   OF  THE,  THEORY,    HISTORY,   AND   PRACTICE   OF  EDUCATION 
IN  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS,   SCOTLAND 


AMERICAN  EDITION 
REVISED 


^     OF   THE 

UJMIVERSITY 

OF 


BOSTON,   U.S.A. 

D.   C.   HEATH   &   CO.,   PUBLISHEES 

1909 


? 


^6>^ 


VjC 


t^m^^ 


COPYRIGHT    1SS7   AND    I906   BY   D.   C.   HEATH    &  COMPANY 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


/F. 


PREFACE 


This  book  is  divided  into  four  parts,  arranged  in  the  se- 
quence in  which  they  would  naturally  be  studied.  Each  part, 
however,  is  independent  of  the  others,  and  may  be  studied  by 
itself. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  book  will  prove  useful  in  high  schools, 
academies,  and  seminaries,  as  well  as  to  candidates  for  teachers' 
examinations  and  civil  service  examinations.  The  various 
topics  have  been  prepared  upon  the  assumption  that  the  stu- 
dent has  already  studied  a  part  of  the  work  in  an  elementary 
form. 

The  most  sahent  features  of  the  language  have  been  de- 
scribed, and  minor  details  have  been  left  for  the  teacher  to 
fill  in  as  needed.  The  utmost  clearness  and  simplicity  have 
been  the  aim  of  the  writer,  and  he  has  been  obliged  to  sacrifice 
many  interesting  details  to  this  aim. 

The  study  of  English  grammar  is  necessarily  becoming  more 
and  more  historical.  There  are  scores  of  inflections  and 
constructions  and  idioms  which  cannot  be  truly  or  adequately 
explained  without  a  reference  to  the  past  states  of  the  language, 
to  the  time  when  it  was  a  synthetic  or  inflected  language,  like 
German  or  Latin. 

The. subject  of  syntax  has  been  set  forth  in  the  form  of  rules. 
This  is  thought  to  be  better  for  young  students  who  require 
firm  and  clear  dogmatic  statements  of  fact,  but  the  skilful 
teacher  will  work  up  to  these  rules  by  the  interesting  process 
of  induction,  and,  when  possible,  will  induce  his  pupils  to  draw 
the  general  conclusions  from  the  data  given. 

ill 

197650 


iv  PREFACE 

Another  convenience  that  will  be  found  by  both  teacher  and 
student  in  this  form  of  rules  is  that  they  can  be  compared  with 
the  rules  of  foreign  languages,  such  as  Latin,  French,  and 
German. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  English 
language  and  of  its  literature,  contained  in  Parts  III  and  IV, 
may  not  only  give  the  student  a  general  survey  of  the  subject, 
but  may  also  lead  him  to  the  attitude  of  mind  of  Oliver  Twist, 
and  induce  him  to  "  ask  for  more  ! " 

The  Index  will  be  found  useful  in  comparing  the  parts  of 
each  subject,  as  all  separate  paragraphs  about  the  same  subject 
will  be  found  there  grouped  together. 

J.  M.  D.  M. 

REVISED    EDITION. 

In  making  the  present  revision  the  needs  of  the  better  class 
of  American  educational  institutions  have  been  kept  con- 
stantly in  mind.  Advantage  has  been  taken  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  incorporate  into  the  book  the  latest  results  of 
modern  scholarship.  Errors  of  fact  and  the  occasional  use 
of  an  obsolete  nomenclature  have  been  eliminated.  All  of  the 
numerous  changes  made  have  been  suggested  by  American 
scholars  of  note.  It  is  hoped  that  the  marked  favor  so  long 
shown  toward  the  book  in  its  original  form  may  be  trans- 
ferred to  this  revised  American  edition,  which  is  in  scholarly 
accuracy  even  more  worthy  of  kindly  regard. 

April  1905. 


CONTENTS 


PART    I. 


Language 
Orthography 
Etymology    . 

Nouns     . 

Pronouns 

Adjectives 

Verbs 

Adverbs  . 

Prepositions 

Conjunctions 

Interjections 
Words  and  their  Functions 
Syntax 

Noun 

Nominative  Case 
Possessive  Case 
Objective  Case 
Dative  Case 

Adjective 

Pronoun 

Verb 

Adverb    . 

Preposition 

Conjunction 
Analysis 

Simple  Sentence 

Forms  of  Sentences 

Parts  of  the  Sentence 

Nominative  of  Address 

Complex  Sentence 

Cautions  in  the  Analysis  of  Complex  Sentences 

The  Mapping  Out  of  Complex  Sentences 

Compound  Sentence 

Co-ordinate  Sentences    . 

Parenthetical  Sentences 


VI                                                C02^T£NTS. 

PAGE 

Word-building  and  Derivation     .            .            .            .            .116 

Prefixes  and  SufiBxes 

119 

English  Prefixes 

120 

Latin  Prefixes     . 

123 

Greek  Prefixes    . 

126 

English  Sufl&xes  . 

128 

Latin  and  French  Suffixes 

134 

Greek  Suffixes    . 

141 

Word -BR  ANCHING 

143 

English  Roots     . 

144 

Latin  Roots 

147 

Greek  Roots 

152 

Words  derived  from  the  Names  of  Persons 

.       154 

Words  derived  from  the  Names  of  Places 

158 

Words  disguised  in  Form  .... 

161 

Words  that  have  Changed  in  Meaning  . 

168 

PAET    IL 

Composition  .            .            .            .            .            .            .            .175 

Punctuation 

187 

Figures  of  Speech  . 

189 

Paraphrasing 

192 

Prosody 

194 

Exercises 

207 

Examination  Questions 

243 

PAET    IIL 

The  History  of  the  English  Language  . 
History  of  the  Vocabulary 
History  of  the  Grammar 


269 
280 
317 


PART    IV. 

Outline  of  the  History  of  English  Literature 
Tables  of  English  Literature 


347 
429 


Index 


459 


PART    I. 

THE  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 

INTEODUCTIOK 

1.  What  a  Language  is. — A  Language  is  a  number  of  con- 
nected sounds  which  convey  a  meaning.  These  sounds,  car- 
ried to  other  persons,  enable  them  to  know  how  the  speaker 
is  feeling,  and  what  he  is  thinking.  More  than  ninety  per  cent 
of  all  language  used  is  spoken  language ;  that  which  is  written 
forms  an  extremely  small  proportion.  But,  as  people  grow  more 
and  more  intelligent,  the  need  of  written  language  becomes  more 
and  more  felt ;  and  hence  all  civilised  nations  have,  in  course 
of  time,  slowly  and  with  great  difficulty  made  for  themselves  a 
set  of  signs,  by  the  aid  of  which  the  sounds  are,  as  it  were, 
indicated  upon  paper.  But  it  is  the  sounds  that  are  the 
language,  and  not  the  signs.  The  signs  are  a  more  or  less 
artificial,  and  more  or  less  accurate,  mode  of  representing  the 
language  to  the  eye.  Hence  the  names  language,  tongue, 
and  speech  are  of  themselves  sufficient  to  show  that  it  is  the 
spoken,  and  not  the  ■written,  language  that  is  the  language, — 
that  is  the  more  important  of  the  two,  and  that  indeed  gives 
life  and  vigour  to  the  other. 

2.  The  Spoken  and  the  Written  Language. — Every  civilised 
language  had  existed  for  unknown  ages  before  it  was  written 
or  printed.  Before  it  was  written,  then,  it  existed  merely  as 
a  spoken  language.  Our  own  tongue  existed  as  a  spoken 
language  for  many  centuries  before  any  of  it  was  committed 
to  writing.  Many  languages — such  as  those  in  the  south  of 
Africa — are  born,  live,  and  die  out  without  having  ever  been 
written  do^vn  at  all.  The  parts  of  a  spoken  language  are 
called  sounds;  the  smallest  parts  of  a  written  language  are 


4  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

called  letters.     The  science  of   spoken  sounds  is  called  Pho- 
netics ;  the  science  of  written  signs  is  called  Alphabetics. 

3.  The  English  Language. — The  English  language  is  the 
language  of  the  English  people.  The  English  are  a  Teutonic 
people  who  came  to  this  island  from  the  north-M'est  of  Europe 
in  the  fifth  century,  and  brought  with  them  the  English  tongue 
—  but  only  in  its  spoken  form.  The  English  spoken  in 
the  fifth  century  was  a  harsh  guttural  speech,  consisting  of  a 
few  thousand  words,  and  spoken  by  a  few  thousand  settlers 
in  the  east  of  England.  It  is  now  a  speech  spoken  by  more 
than  a  hundred  millions  of  people — spread  all  over  the  world ; 
and  it  consists  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  words.  It 
was  once  poor ;  it  is  now  one  of  the  richest  languages  in  the 
world :  it  was  once  confined  to  a  few  corners  of  land  in  the 
east  of  England;  it  has  now  spread  over  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  the  whole  of  Is'orth  America,  the  whole  of  Australia, 
and  parts  of  South  America  and  Africa. 

4.  The  Grammar  of  English. — Every  language  grows.  It 
changes  as  a  tree  changes.  Its  fibre  becomes  harder  as  it  grows 
older ;  it  loses  old  words  and  takes  on  new — as  a  tree  loses  old 
leaves,  and  clothes  itself  in  new  leaves  at  the  coming  of  every 
new  spring.  But  we  are  not  at  present  going  to  trace  the 
growth  of  the  English  Language ;  we  are  going,  just  now,  to 
look  at  it  as  it  is.  AVe  shall,  of  course,  be  obliged  to  look  back 
now  and  again,  and  to  compare  the  past  state  of  the  language 
with  its  present  state ;  but  this  will  be  necessary  only  when  we 
cannot  otherwise  understand  the  present  forms  of  our  tongue. 
A  description  or  account  of  the  nature,  constitution,  or  structure 
of  a  language  is  called  its  Grammar. 

5.  The  Parts  of  Grammar. — Grammar  considers  and  exam- 
ines language  from  its  smallest  parts  up  to  its  most  complex 
organisation.  The  smallest  part  of  a  written  language  is  a  let- 
ter; the  next  smallest  is  a  word;  and  with  words  we  make 
sentences.  There  is,  then,  a  Grammar  of  Letters ;  a  Grammar 
of  Words  ;  and  a  Grammar  of  Sentences.  The  Grammar  of  Let- 
ters is  called  Orthography ;  the  Grammar  of  Words  is  called 
Etymology ;  and  the  Grammar  of  Sentences  is  called  Syntax. 


THE   GRAMMAR   OF   LETTERS.  5 

There  is  also  a  Grammar  of  Verse ;  and  this  grammar  is  called 
Prosody. 

(i)  Orthography  comes  from  two  Greek  words  :  orthos,  right ;  and 
graphe,   a  writing.     The  word  therefore  means  correct  writing. 

(ii)  Etymology  comes  from  two  Greek  words  :  etilmos,  true  ;  and  logos, 
an  account.     It  therefore  means  a  true  account  of  words. 

(iii)  Syntax  comes  from  two  Greek  words  :  sun,  together,  with  ;  and 
taxis,  an  order.  When  a  Greek  general  drew  up  his  men  in  order  of 
battle,  he  was  said  to  have  them  "tn  syntaxis.''  The  word  now  means 
an  account  of  the  structure  of  sentences. 

(iv)  Prosody  comes  from  two  Greek  words  :  pros,  to  ;  and  ode,  a  song. 
It  means  the  measurement  of  verse. 


THE   GRAMMAR   OF   S0U:N"DS   AND   LETTERS, 
OR   ORTHOGRAPHY. 

6.  The  Grammar  of  Sounds. — There  are  two  kinds  of  sounds 
in  our  language  :  (i)  the  open  sounds  ;  and  (ii)  the  stopped 
sounds.  The  open  sounds  are  called  vowels ;  the  stopped 
sounds  consonants.  Vowels  can  be  known  by  two  tests — a 
negative  and  a  positive.  The  negative  test  is  that  they  do  not 
need  the  aid  of  other  letters  to  enable  them  to  be  sounded ; 
the  positive  test  is  that  they  are  formed  by  the  continuous 
passage  of  the  breath. 

(i)  Vowel  comes  from  Old  French  vouel  (Latin  vScdlis,  sounding). 

(ii)  Consonant  comes  from  Lat.  con,  with  ;  and  sSno,  I  sound. 

(iii)  Two  vowel-sounds  uttered  without  a  break  between  them  are 
called  a  diphthong.  Thus  oi  in  boil ;  ai  in  aisle  are  diphthongs.  (The 
word  comes  from  Greek  dis,  twice  ;  and  phthonge,  a  sound. ) 

7.  The  Grammar  of  Consonants:  (1)  Mutes. — There  are 
different  ways  of  stopping,  checking,  or  penning -in  the  con- 
tinuous flow  of  sound.  The  sound  may  be  stopped  (i)  by  the 
lips — as  in  ib  and  ip.  Such  consonants  are  called  Labials. 
Or  (ii)  the  sound  may  be  stopped  by  the  teeth — as  in  id 
and  it.  Such  consonants  are  called  Dentals.  Or  (iii)  the 
sound   may   be    stopped    in    the    throat — as   in   ig   and    ik. 


GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


These  consonants  are  called  Gutturals.     The  above  set  of  sounds 
are  called  Mutes,  because  the  sound  conies  to  a  full  stop. 
(i)  Labial  comes  from  Lat.  labium,  the  lip. 

(ii)  Dental  comes  from  Lat.  dens  (dents)  a  tooth.     Hence  also  dentist. 

(iii)  Guttural  comes  from  Lat.  guttur,  the  throat. 

(iv)  Palatal  comes  from  Lat.  palatum,  the  palate. 

8.  The  Grammar  of  Consonants :  (2)  Spirants.  Some  con- 
sonants have  a  little  breath  attached  to  them,  do  not  stop  the 
sound  abruptly,  but  may  be  prolonged.  These  are  called 
breathing  letters  or  spirants.  Thus,  if  we  take  an  ib  and 
breathe  through  it,  we  make  it  an  iv — the  b  becomes  a  v.  If 
we  take  an  ip  and  breathe  through  it,  it  becomes  an  if — the  p 
becomes  an  f.     Hence  v  and  f  are  called  spirant  labials.     The 


following  is  a 


TABLE  OF  CONSONANT  SOUNDS. 


MUTES. 

NASAL. 

SPIRANTS. 

Flat 
(or  Soft). 

Sharp 
(or  Hard). 

Flat 
(or  Soft). 

Sharp 
(or  Hard). 

Gutturals 

g 

(i»'  g'g) 

k 

ng 

h 

... 

Palatals   . 

J 

ch 

(church) 

y 

(yea) 

... 

... 

Palatal       \ 
Sibilants  / 

... 

... 

zh 

(azure) 

sh 

(sure) 

r 

Dental         \ 
Sibilants  j 

... 

... 

Z 

(prize) 

S 

1 

Dentals     . 

d 

t 

n 

th 

(bathe) 

th 

(bath) 

Labials 

b 

P 

m 

V,  W 

f,  wh 

... 

(i)  The  above  table  goes  from  the  throat  to  the  lips — from  the  back  to 
the  front  of  the  mouth, 

(ii)  Another  term  for  flat  is  voiced  or  sonant,  and  for  sharp,  voiceless 
or  surd. 


THE    GRAMMAR   OF   LETTERS.  7 

9.  The  Grammar  of  Letters. — Letters  are  conventional 
signs  or  symbols  employed  to  represent  sounds  to  the  eye. 
They  have  grown  out  of  pictures,  which,  being  gradually  pared 
down,  became  mere  signs  or  letters.  The  steps  were  these  : 
picture  ;  abridged  picture  ;  diagram ;  sign  or  symbol.  The 
sum  of  all  the  letters  used  to  write  or  print  a  language  is  called 
its  Alphabet.  Down  to  the  fifteenth  century,  we  employed  a  set 
of  Old  English  letters,  such  as  a  b  C — X  g  ^,  which  were  the 
Eoman  letters  ornamented ;  but,  from  that  or  about  that  time, 
we  have  used  and  still  use  only  the  plain  Roman  letters,  as 
a  b  c — X  y  z. 

The  word  alphabet  comes  from  the  name  of  the  first  two  letters  in 
the  Greek  language  :  alpha,  beta. 

10.  An  Alphabet. — An  alphabet  is,  as  we  have  seen,  a  code 
of  signs  or  signals.  Every  code  of  signs  has  two  laws,  neither 
of  which  can  be  broken  without  destroying  the  accuracy  and 
trustworthiness  of  the  code.     These  two  laws  are  : 

(i)  One  and  the  same  sound  must  be  represented  by  one  and 
the  same  letter. 

Hence :  No  sound  should  be  represented  by  more  than  one  letter. 

(ii)  One  letter  or  set  of  letters  must  represent  only  one  and 
the  same  sound. 

Hence  :  No  letter  should  represent  more  than  one  sound. 

Or,  put  in  another  way  : 

(i)  One  sound  must  be  represented  by  one  distinct  symbol, 
(ii)  One  symbol   must  be  translated  to  the  ear  by  no  more 
than  one  sound. 

(i)  The  first  law  is  broken  when  we  represent  the  long  sound  of  a  in 
eight  different  ways,  as  in — fate,  braid,  say,  great,  neigh,  prey,  gaol, 
gauge. 

(ii)  The  second  law  is  broken  when  we  give  eight  different  sounds  to 
the  one  symbol  ough,  as  in — bough,  cough,  dough,  hiccough  (  =  cup), 
hough  (=hock),  tough,  through,  thorough. 

11.  Our  Alphabet. — The  spoken  alphabet  of  English  contains 
forty-three  sounds ;  the  written  alphabet  has  only  twenty-six 
symbols  or  letters  to  represent  them.     Hence  the  English  al- 


8  GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

phabet  is  very  deficient.  But  it  is  also  redundant.  For  it 
contains  five  superfluous  letters,  c,  g,  «,  w,  and  y.  The  work 
of  the  letter  c  might  be  done  by  either  A:  or  by  5  /  that  of  q 
hjk;  X  is  equal  to  ks  or  gs  ;  w  could  be  represented  by  oo  ; 
and  all  that  y  does  could  be  done  by  i.  It  is  in  the  vowel- 
sounds  that  the  irregularities  of  our  alphabet  are  most  discern- 
ible. Thirteen  vowel-sounds  are  represented  to  the  eye  in  more 
than  one  hundred  different  ways. 

(i)  There  are  twelve  ways  of  printing  a  short  i,  as  in  sit,  Cyril,  busy, 
women,  etc. 

(ii)  There  are  twelve  ways  of  printing  a  short  e,  as  in  set,  any,  bury, 
"bread,  etc. 

(iii)  There  are  ten  ways  of  printing  a  long  e,  as  in  mete,  marine,  meet, 
meat,  'key,  etc. 

(iv)  There  are  thirteen  ways  of  printing  a  short  u,  as  in  bwd,  love, 
berth,  rough,  flood,  etc. 

(v)  There  are  eleven  ways  of  printing  a  long  w,  as  in  rwde,  move,  bleu?, 
true,  etc 


THE    GEAMMAE    OF    WOEDS,    or    ETYMOLOGY. 

There  are  eight  kinds  of  words  in  our  language :  (i)  Names 
or  Wouns.  (ii)  The  words  that  stand  for  Nouns,  called  Pro- 
nouns, (iii)  The  words-that-go-with-Wouns  or  Adjectives, 
(iv)  The  wrords- that -say -some  thing -of -Nouns  or  Verbs, 
(v)  The  words  that  go  with  Verbs  or  Adjectives  or  Adverbs, 
called  Adverbs,  (vi)  The  words  that-show-relation,  called 
Prepositions.  (vii)  Those  that-join-Words-and-Sentences, 
called  Conjunctions,  (viii)  Interjections,  which  are  indeed 
mere  sounds  without  any  organic  or  vital  connection  with 
other  words;  and  they  are  hence  sometimes  called  extra- 
grammatical  utterances.  l!^ouns  and  Adjectives,  Verbs  and 
Adverbs,  have  distinct,  individual,  and  substantive  mean- 
ings. Pronouns  have  no  meanings  in  themselves,  but  merely 
refer  to  nouns,  just  like  a  |^p"  in  a  book.  Prepositions  and 
Conjunctions  once  had  independent  meanings,  but  have  not 


THE   CLASSIFICATION   OF   NOUNS  9 

much  now  :  their  chief  use  is  to  join  words  to  each  other. 
They  act  the  part  of  nails  or  of  ghie  in  language.  Interjections 
have  a  kind  of  meaning  ;  but  they  never  represent  a  thought — 
only  a  feeling,  a  feeling  of  pain  or  of  pleasure,  of  sorrow  or  of 
surprise. 

NOUNS. 

1.  A  Noun   is  a  name,  or  any  word   or  words  used  as  a 
name. 

Ball,  house,  fish,  John,  Mary,  are  all  names,  and  are  therefore  nouns. 
"  To  ivalk  in  the  open  air  is  pleasant  in  summer  evenings."  The  two 
words  to  walk  are  used  as  the  name  of  an  action  ;  to  walk  is  therefore 
a  noun. 

The  word  noun  comes  from  the  Latin  noraen,  a  name.  From  this  word  we  haya 
also  nominal,  denominate,  denomination,  etc. 

THE    CLASSIFICATION    OF    NOUNS. 

2.  Nouns  are  of  two  classes — Proper  and  Common. 

3.  A  proper  noun  is  the  name  of  an  individual,  as  an  in- 
dividual, and  not  as  one  of  a  class. 

John,  Mary,  London,  Birmingham,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  are  all  proper 
nouns. 

The  word  proper  comes  from  the  Latin  proprius,  one's  own.  Hence  a 
proper  noun  is,  in  relation  to  one  person,  one's  own  name.  From  the  same  word 
we  have  appropriate,  to  make  one's  own  ;  expropriate,  etc. 

(i)  Proper  nouns  are  always  written  with  a  capital  letter  at  the 
beginning  ;  and  so  also  are  the  words  derived  from  them.  Thus  we 
write  France,  French,  Frenchified ;  Milton,  Miltonic  ;  Shakespeare,  Shake- 
spearian. 

(ii)  Proper  nouns,  as  such,  have  no  meaning.  They  are  merely  marks 
to  indicate  a  special  person  or  place.  They  had,  however,  originally  a 
meaning.  The  persons  now  called  Armstrong,  Smith,  Greathead,  no 
doubt  had  ancestors  who  were  strong  in  the  arm,  who  did  the  work  of 
smiths,  or  who  had  large  heads. 

(iii)  A  proper  noun  may  be  used  as  a  common  noun,  when  it  is  em- 
ployed not  to  mark  an  individual,  but  to  indicate  one  of  a  class.  Thus 
we  can  say,  "He  is  the  Milton  of  his  age,"  meaning  by  this  that  he 
possesses  the  qualities  which  all  those  poets  have  who  are  like  Milton. 

(iv)  We  can  also  speak  of  "  the  Howards,"  "the  Smiths,"  meaning  a 
number  of  persons  who  are  called  Howard  or  who  are  called  Smith. 


10  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

4.  A  common  noun  is  the  name  of  a  person,  place,  or  thing, 
considered  not  merely  as  an  individual,  but  as  one  of  a  class. 
Horse,  town,  hoy,  table,  are  common  nouns. 

The  word  common  conies  from  the  Lat.  communis,  "shared  by  several";  and 
we  find  it  also  in  community,  commonalty,  etc. 

(i)  A  common  noun  is  so  called  because  it  belongs  in  common  to  all 
the  persons,  places,  or  things  in  the  same  class. 

(ii)  The  name  rahhit  marks  off,  or  distinguishes,  that  animal  from 
all  other  animals  ;  but  it  does  not  distinguish  one  rabbit  from  another — 
it  is  common  to  all  animals  of  the  class.  Hence  we  may  say  :  a  com- 
mon noun  distinguishes  from  without ;  but  it  does  not  distinguish  within 
its  own  bounds. 

(iii)  Common  nouns  have  a  meaning;  proper  nouns  have  not.  The 
latter  may  have  a  meaning  ;  but  the  meaning  is  generally  not  appro- 
priate. Thus  persons  called  Whitehead  and  Longshanks  may  be  dark 
and  short.    Hence  such  names  are  merely  signs,  and  not  significant  marks. 

5.  Common  nouns  are  generally  subdivided  into — 

(i)  Class-names. 

(ii)  Collective  nouns. 

(iii)  Abstract  nouns. 

(i)  Under  class-names  are  included  not  only  ordinary  names,  but 
also  the  names  of  materials — as  tea,  sugar,  wheat,  water.  The  names 
of  materials  can  be  used  in  the  plural  when  diflferent  Mnds  of  tne 
material  are  meant.  Thus  we  say  "fine  teas,"  "coarse  sugars,"  when 
we  meaning  Tcinds  of  tea,  etc. 

(ii)  A  collective  noun  is  the  name  of  a  collection  of  persons  or 
things,  looked  upon  by  the  mind  as  one.  Thus  we  say  committee, 
'parliament,  crowd;  and  tliink  of  these  collections  of  persons  as  each 
one  body. 

(iii)  An  abstract  noun  is  the  name  of  a  quality,  action,  or  state, 
considered  in  itself,  and  as  abstracted  from  the  thing  or  person  in 
which  it  really  exists.  Thus,  we  see  a  number  of  lazy  persons,  and 
think  of  laziness  as  a  quality  in  itself,  abstracted  from  the  persons. 
(From  Lat.  ahs,  from  ;  tr actus,  drawn.) 

(a)  The  name?  of  arts  and  sciences  are  abstract  nouns,  because  they  are  the 
names  of  processes  of  thought,  considered  apart  and  abstracted  from  the 
persons  who  practise  them.  Thus,  music,  painting,  grammar,  chemistry, 
astronomy,  are  abstract  nouns. 

(iv)  Abstract  nouns  are  (a)  derived  from  adjectives,  as  hardness, 
didness,  sloth,  from  hard,  dull,  and  slow;  or  (6)  from  verbs,  as  growth, 
thought,  from  grow  and  think. 


THE   INFLEXIONS    OF   NOUNS.  11 

(v)  Abstract  nouns  are  sometimes  used  as  collective  nouns.  Thus  we 
say  "  the  nobility  and  gentry  "  for  "  the  nobles  and  gentlemen  "  of  the 
land. 

(vi)  Abstract  nouns  are  formed  from  other  words  by  the  addition  of 
such  endings  as  ness,  th,  ery,  hood,  head,  etc. 

6.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  divisions  of  nouns  : — 

NOUNS. 


Proper.  Common. 


Class-Names.         Collective  Nouns,         Abstract  Nouns. 

THE    INFLEXIONS    OF    NOUNS. 

7.  Nouns  can  be  inflected  or  changed.     They  are  inflected  to 
indicate  Gender,  Number,  and  Case. 

We  must  not,   however,   forget   that   diff"erences   of  gender, 
number,  or  case  are  not  always  indicated  by  inflexion. 

Inflexio  is  a  Latin  word  which  means  bending.     An  inflexion,  therefore,  is  a 
bending  away  from  the  simple  form  of  the  word 

Gender. 

8.  G-ender  is,  in  grammar,  the  mode  of  distinguishing  sex  by 

the  aid  of  words,  prefixes,  or  suffixes. 

The  word  gender  comes  from  the  Lat.  genus,  generis  (Fr.  genre),  a 
kind  or  sort.  We  have  the  same  word  in  generic,  general,  etc.  (The 
d  in  gender  is  no  organic  or  true  part  of  the  word  ;  it  has  been  in- 
serted as  a  kind  of  cushion  between  the  n  and  the  r.) 

(i)  Names  of  males  are  said  to  be  of  the  masculine  gender,  as  master, 
lord,  Harry.     Lat.  mas,  a  male. 

(ii)  Names  of  females  are  of  the  feminine  gender,  as  mistress,  lady, 
Harriet.  Lat.  femina,  a  woman.  (From  the  same  word  we  have 
effeminate,  etc.) 

(iii)  Names  of  things  without  sex  are  of  the  neuter  gender,  as  head, 
tree,  London.  Lat.  neuter,  neither.  (From  the  same  word  we  have 
neutral,  neutrality.) 

(iv)  Names  of  animals,  the  sex  of  which  is  not  indicated,  are  said  to 
be  of  the  common  gender.  Thus,  sheep,  bird,  hawk,  parent,  servant,  are 
common,  because  they  may  be  of  either  gender. 


12  GRAMMAE   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

(v)  We  may  sum  up  thus  : — 

Gender. 

\ 

1  \  \  I 

Masculine.  Feminine.  Neuter,  Comnion. 

(Neither)  ^  {Either) 

(vi)  If  we  personify  things,  passions,  powers,  or  natural  forces,  we  may 
make  them  either  mascuHne  or  feminine.  Thus  the  Sun,  Time,  the 
Ocean,  Anger,  War,  a  7'iver,  are  generally  made  masculine.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Moon,  the  Earth  ("  Mother  Earth"),  Virtue,  a  ship.  Religion, 
Pity,  Peace,  are  generally  spoken  of  as  feminine. 

(vii)  Sex  is  a  distinction  between  animals ;  gender  a  distinction  be- 
tween nouns.  In  Old  English,  mouth  was  masculine,  tongue,  feminine, 
and  eye,  neuter.  But  we  have  lost  all  these  distinctions,  and,  in 
modern  Enghsh,  gender  always  follows  sex. 

9.  There  are  three  ways  of  marking  gender  : — 

(i)  By  the  use  of  Suffixes, 
(ii)  By  Prefixes  (or  by  Composition). 

(iii)  By  using  distinct  words  for  the  names  of  the  'male  and 
female. 


I.  Gender  marked  by  Suffixes. 

A.    Purely  English  or  Teutonic  SufExes. 

10.  There  are  now  in  our  language  only  two  purely  English 
suffixes  used  to  mark  the  feminine  gender,  and  these  are  used 
in  only  two  words.  The  two  endings  are  en  and  ster,  and  the 
two  words  are  vixen  and  spinster. 

(i)  Vixen  is  the  feminine  of /ox;  and  spinster  of  spinner  [spinder  or 
spinther,  which,  later  on,  became  spicier).  King  Alfred,  in  his  writings, 
speaks  of  "  the  spear-side  and  the  spindle-side  of  a  house  " — meaning  the 
men  and  the  women. 

(ii)  Ster  was  used  as  a  feminine  suffix  very  largely  in  Old  English. 
Thus,  ivebster  was  a  woman-iveaver ;  baxter  (or  hag  ster),  a  female  baker  ; 
hoppester,  a  woman-dancer ;  redester,  a  woman-reader;  hucTcster,  a  fem<de 
hawker  (travelling  merchant)  ;  and  so  on. 

(iii)  In  Ancient  English  (Anglo-Saxon)  the  masculine  ending  was  a, 
and  the  feminine  e,  as  in  wicca,  wicce,  witch.  Hence  we  find  the  names 
of  many  Saxon  kings  ending  in  a,  as  Ida,  Offa,  Penda^  etc. 


GENDEK   INDICATED   BY   SUFFIXES  AND   PREFIXES. 


13 


B.    Latin  and  French   Sufl5.xes. 

11.  The  chief  feminine  ending  which  we  have  received  from 
the  French  is  ess  (Latin,  issa).  This  is  also  the  only  feminine 
suffix  with  a  living  force  at  the  present  day — the  only  suffix  we 
could  add  to  any  new  word  that  might  be  adopted  by  us  from 
a  foreign  source. 

12.  The  following  are  nouns  whose  feminines  end  in  ess  : — 


Masculine. 

Feminine. 

Masculine. 

Feminine. 

Actor 

Actress. 

Host 

Hostess. 

Baron 

Baroness. 

Lad 

Lass. 

Caterer 

Cateress. 

Marquis 

Marchioness 

Count 

Countess. 

Master 

Mistress. 

Duke 

Duchess. 

Mayor 

IMayoress. 

Emperor 

Empress. 

Murderer 

Murderess. 

It  will  be  noticed  that,  besides  adding  ess,  some  of  the 
letters  undergo  change  or  are  thrown  out  altogether. 

There  are  other  feminine  suffixes  of  a  foreign  origin,  such  as 
ine,  a,  and  trix. 

(i)  ine  is  a  Greek  ending,  and  is  found  in  heroine.  A  similar  ending  in 
landgravine  and  margravine,  the  feminines  of  landgrave  (a  German 
count)  and  margrave  (a  lord  of  the  Mark  or  of  marches),  is  German, 

(ii)  a  is  an  Italian  or  Spanish  ending,  and  is  found  in  donna  (the 
feminine  of  Don,  a  gentleman),  infanta  ( =  the  child,  the  heiress  to  the 
crown  of  Spain),  sultana,  and  signora  (the  feminine  of  Signor,  the 
Italian  for  Senior,  elder). 

(iii)  trix  is  a  purely  Latin  ending,  and  is  found  only  in  those  words 
that  have  come  to  us  directly  from  Latin  ;  as  testator,  testatrix  (a  person 
who  has  made  a  will),  executor,  executrix  (a  person  who  carries  out  the 
directions  of  a  will). 


II.  Gender  indicated  by  Prefixes  (or  by  Composition). 

13.  The  distinction  between  the  masculine  and  the  feminine 
gender  is  indicated  by  using  such  words  as  man,  maid — bull, 
cow — he,  she — cock,  hen,  as  prefixes  to  the  nouns  men- 
tioned. In  the  oldest  English,  carl  and  cwen  (  =  queen)  were 
employed  to  mark  gender ;  and  carl-fugol  is  =  cock-fowl,  cwen- 
fugol  =  hen-f  owL 


14 


GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


14.   The    following   are    the    most    important  words    of   this 
kind  : — 


Masculine. 

Feminine. 

Masculine, 

Feminine. 

Man-servant 

!Maid.-servant. 

Bull-calf 

Cow-calf. 

Man 

"Woman  ( —  wife-man) . 

Cock-sparrow 

Hen-sparrrow 

He -goat 

She-goat. 

"Wether -lamb 

Ewe-lamb. 

He-ass 

She-ass. 

Pea-cock 

Pea-hen. 

Jack -ass 

Jenny-ass. 

Turkey-cock 

Turkey-hen. 

Jackdaw 

(i)  In  the  time  of  Shakespeare,  he  and  she  were  used  as  nouns.  "We 
find  such  phrases  as  "  The  proudest  he,"  "  The  fairest  she,"  "  That  not 
impossible  she." 

III.  Gender  indicated  by  Different  Words. 

15.  The  use  of  different  words  for  the  masculine  and  the  fem- 
inine does  not  really  belong  to  grammatical  gender.  It  may  be 
well,  however,  to  note  some  of  the  most  important : — 


Masculine. 

Feminine. 

Masculine.               Feminine. 

Bachelor 

Spinster. 

Husband               "Wife. 

Boy 

Girl. 

King                      Queen. 

Brother 

Sister. 

Lord                       Lady. 

Foal 

FiUy. 

Monk                     Nun. 

Drake 

Duck. 

Nephew                 Niece. 

Drone 

Bee. 

Ram  (or  Wether)  Ewe. 

Earl 

Countess. 

Sir                           Madam. 

Father 

Mother. 

Sloven                   Slut. 

Gander 

Goose. 

Son                        Daughter 

Hart 

Hind. 

"Uncle                    Aunt. 

Horse 

Mare. 

Wizard                   Witch. 

(i)  Bachelor,  from  Low  Latin  baccalarius,  a  holder  or  tenant  of  a 
small  farm. 

(ii)  Girl,  Low  German  gor,  a  child. 

(iii)  Filly,  the  dim.  of  foal.  (When  a  syllable  is  added,  the  previous 
vowel  is  often  modified  :  as  in  cat,  kitten  ;  cock,  chicken  ;  cook,  kitchen.) 

(iv)  Drake,  formerly  endrake ;  end  =^ duck,  and  rake^'kmg.  The 
word  therefore  means  king  of  the  ducks.  (The  word  rake  appears  in 
another  form  in  the  ric  of  bishopric  — the  ric  or  kingdom  or  domain 
of  a  bishop.) 

(v)  Earl,  from  A.S.  eorl,  a  warrior.  Countess  comes  from  the  French 
word  comtesse. 


GENDER.  1 5 

(vi)  Father  =/e«€Ze7' ;  cogx\^ie  oi  fat,  food,  feed,  fodder,  foster,  etc. 

(vii)  Goose;  in  the  oldest  A.S.  gons ;  Gandr-a  (the  a  being  the  sign 
of  the  masc).  Hence  gander,  the  d  being  inserted  as  a  cushion  be- 
tween n  and  r,  as  in  thunder,  gender,  etc. 

(viii)  Hart  =  the  horned  one. 

(ix)  Mare,  the  fern,  of  A.S.  mearh,  a  horse.  Hence  also  marshal, 
which  at  first  meant  horse-servant. 

(x)  Husband,  from  Icelandic,  hushuandi,  the  master  of  the  house.  A 
farmer  in  Norway  is  called  a  bonder. 

(xi)  King,  a  contraction  of  A.S.  cyning,  son  of  the  kin  or  tribe. 

(xii)  Lord,  a  contraction  of  A.S.  hlaford — from  hlaf,  a  loaf,  and 
weard,  a  ward  or  keeper. 

(xiii)  Lady,  a  contraction  of  A.S.  hla^fdige,  a  loaf-kneader. 

(xiv)  The  old  A.S,  words  were  nefa,  nefc. 

(xv)  Woman  =  wife  -  man.  The  pronunciation  of  women  {wimm^n) 
comes  nearer  to  the  old  form  of  the  word.     See  note  on  (iii.) 

(xvi)  Sir,  from  French  sire  (Lat.  senior,  elder). 

(xvii)  Madam,  from  Lat.  Mea  domina  (through  the  French  Ma  dame) 
=  my  lady. 

(xviii)  Daughter,  probably  means  milker.     Connected  with  dug. 

(xix)  Wizard,  from  old  French  guiscart,  prudent.  Witch  has  no  con- 
nection with  wizard. 

16.  All  feminine  nouns  are  formed  from  the  masculine,  with 
four  exceptions  :  bridegroom,  ■wido'wer,  gander,  and  drake, 
which  come  respectively  from  bride,  widow,  goose,  and  duck. 

(i)  Bridegroom  was  in  A.S.  brydguma  =  the  bride's  man.  (Guma  is  a 
cognate  of  the  Lat.  hom-o,  a  man — whence  humanity.) 

(ii)  Widower.  The  old  masc.  was  widuwa ;  the  fem.  iciduwe.  It  was 
then  forgotten  that  widuwa  was  a  masculine,  and  a  new  masculine  had 
to  be  formed  from  widuwe. 


Number. 

17.  Number  is,  in  nouns,  the  mode  of  indicating  whether  w© 
are  speaking  of  one  thing  or  of  more. 

18.  The  English  language,  like  most  modem  languages,  has 
two  numbers  :  the  singular  and  the  pluraL 


16 


GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


^ 


(i)  Singular  comes  from  the  Lat.  singuli,  one  by  one  ;  plural,  from 
the  Lat.  plures,  more  (than  one). 

(ii)  Mr  Barnes,  the  eminent  Dorsetshire  poet,  who  has  written   an 
excellent  grammar,  called  '  Speech-craft,'  calls  them  oneli/  and  somely. 

19.  There  are  three    chief  ways  of    forming  the   plural  in 
English : — • 

(i)  By  adding  es  or  s  to  the  singular, 
(ii)  By  adding  en. 
(iii)  By  changing  the  vowel-sound. 

20.  First  Mode. — The  plural  is  formed  by  adding  es  or  s 
The  ending  es  is  a  modern  form  of  the  (^  A.S.  plural  in  as,  at 
stands,  stones.     The  following  are  examples  : — 


Singular. 

Plural. 

Singular. 

Plural. 

Box 

Boxes. 

Beef 

Beeves. 

Gas 

Gases. 

Loaf 

Loaves. 

Witch 

Witches. 

Shelf 

Shelves. 

Hero 

Heroes. 

Staff 

Staves. 

Lady 

Ladies. 

Thief 

Thieves 

(i)  It  will  be  seen  that  es  in  heroes  does  not  add  a  syllable  to  the  sing. 

(ii)  Nouns  ending  in  f  change  the  shai;;p  f  into  a  flat  v,  as  in  beeves, 
etc.      But  we  say  roofs,  cliffs,  dwarfs,  chiefs,  etc. 

(iii)  An  old  singular  of  lady  was  ladie ;  and  this  spelling  is  preserved 
in  the  plural.  But  there  has  arisen  a  rule  on  this  point  in  modern 
English,  which  may  be  thus  stated  : — 

S^  [a)  Y,  with  a  vowel  before  it,  is  not  changed  in  the  plural. 
Thus  we  write  keys,  valleys,  chimneys,  days,  etc. 

(6)  y,  with  a  consonant  before  it,  is  changed  into  ie  when  s  is 
added  for  the  plural.  Thus  we  write  ladies,  rubies,  and  also  solilo- 
quies. 

(iv)  Beef  is  not  now  used  as  the  word  for  a  single  ox.  Shakespeare 
has  the  phrase  "  beef-witted  "  ^-n-ith  no  more  sense  than  an  ox. 

21.  Second  Mode. — The  plural  is  formed  by   adding  en  or 
ne.      Thus  we  have  oxen,  children,  brethren,  and  kine. 

(i)  Children  is  a  double  plural.  The  oldest  plural  was  cild-r-u,  which 
became  childer.  It  was  forgotten  that  this  was  a  proper  plural,  and  en 
was  added.  Brethren  is  also  a  double  plural.  En  was  added  to  the  old 
Northern  plural  brether — the  oldest  plural  being  brothr-u. 

(ii)  Kine  is  also  a  double  plural  of  cow.  The  oldest  plural  was  cy, 
and  this  still  exists  in  Scotland  in  the  form  of  kye.  Then  ne  was 
added. 


NUMBER. 


17 


22.  Third  Mode. — The  plural  is  formed  by  changing  the 
vowel-sound  of  the  word.     The  following  are  examples  : — 


Singular. 

Plural. 

Singular. 

Plural 

Man 

Men. 

Tooth 

Teeth. 

Foot 

Feet. 

Mouse 

Mice. 

Goose 

Geese. 

Louse 

Lice. 

(i)  To  understand  this,  we  must  observe  that  when  a  new  syllable  is 
added  to  a  word,  the  vowel  of  the  preceding  syllable  is  often  weakened. 
Thus  we  find  nation,  national ;  fox,  vixen.  Now  the  oldest  plurals  of 
the  above  words  had  an  additional  syllable  ;  and  it  is  to  this  that  the 
change  in  the  vowel  is  due. 


23.   There   are   in   English  several  nouns   with  two   plural 
forms,  with  different  meanings. 


The  following  is  a  list  :- 


Singular.  Plural. 

Brother  brothers  (by  blood) 

Cloth.  cloths  (kinds  of  cloth) 

Die  dies  (stamps  for  coining) 

Fish  fishes  (looked  at  separately) 

Genius  geniuses  (men  of  talent) 

Index  indexes  (to  books) 

Pea  peas  (taken  separately) 

Penny  pennies  (taken  separately) 

Shot  shots  (separate  discharges) 


Plural. 
brethren  (of  a  community), 
clothes  (garments). 
dice  (cubes  for  gaming), 
fish  (taken  collectively), 
genii  (powerful  spirits). 
indices  (to  quantities  in  algebra), 
pease  (taken  collectively), 
pence  (taken  collectively), 
shot  (balls,  collectively) 


(i)  Pea  is  a  false  singular.  The  s  belongs  to  the  root ;  and  we  find  in 
Middle  English  "  as  big  as  a  pease,"  and  the  plurals  peseu  and  peses. 

24.  Some  nouns  have  the  same  form  in  the  plural  as  in  the 
singular.     Such  are  deer,  sheep,   cod,   trout,   mackerel,   and 

others. 

(i)  Most  of  these  nouns  were,  in  Old  English,  neuter. 

(ii)  A  special  plural  is  found  in  such  phrases  as  :  A  troop  of  horse ; 
n  company  of  foot ;  ten  sail  of  the  line  ;  three  hrace  of  birds  ;  six  gross  of 
steel  pens;  ten  stone  weight,  etc.  In  fact,  the  names  of  numbers, 
weights,  measures,  etc.,  are  not  put  into  the  plural  form.  Thus  we  say, 
ten  hundredweight,  Jive  score,  five  fathom,  six  hrace.  In  Old  English  we 
also  said  forty  year,  sixty  winter  ;  and  we  still  say,  a  twelvemonth,  a  /o7'<- 
wt^rA.^  (  =  fourteen  nights).    'L.t^  jg  .-    ._,        i    •^    - 

25.  There  are  in  English  several  false  plurals — that  is,  real 
singulars  which  look  like  plurals.  These  are  alms,  riches,  and 
eaves. 

B 


18  GRAMMAR  'OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(i)  Alms  is  a  compressed  form  of  the  A.S.  aelmesse  (which  is  from  the 
Greek  eleemosune).  We  find  in  Acts  iii.  3,  "an  alms."  The  adjective 
connected  with  it  is  eleemosynary. 

(ii)  Riches  comes  from  the  French  richesse. 

(iii)  Eaves  is  the  modern  form  of  the  A.S.  efese,  a  margin  or  edge. 

26.   There  are  in  English  several  plural  forms  that  are  re- 
garded and  treated  as  singulars.     The  following  is  a  list:  — 


Amends. 

Odds. 

Smallpox. 

Gallows. 

Pains. 

Thanks. 

News. 

Shambles. 

Tidings. 

(i)  Smallpox  =  small  pocks, 

27.  There  are  many  nouns  that,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
can  be  used  only  in  the  pluraL  These  are  the  names  of 
things  (a)  That  consist  of  two  or  more  parts ;  or  (b)  That  are 
taken  in  the  mass. 

(a)  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  first : — 

Bellows.  Pincers.  Shears.  Tweezers. 

Drawers.  Pliers.  Snuflfers.  Tongs, 

Lungs.  Scissors.  Spectacles.  Trousers. 

(b)  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  second : — 

Annals.  Dregs.  ■  Lees.  Oats. 

Archives,  Embers.  Measles,  Staggers. 

Ashes.  Entrails.  Molasses,  Stocks, 

Assets.  Hustings.  Mumps.  Victuals. 

Jl^"  It  must  be  noticed  that  several  nouns — some  of  them  in  the 
above  class — change  their  meaning  entirely  when  made  plural.     Thus — 


Singular.  Plural, 

Beef  Beeves, 

Copper  Coppers, 

Good  Goods. 


Singular.  Plural. 

Iron  Irons. 

Pain  Pains. 

Spectacle  Spectacles. 


28.  The  English  language  has  adopted  many  foreign  plurals. 
These,  (a)  when  fully  naturalised,  make  their  plurals  in  the 
usual  English  way  ;  (b)  when  not  naturalised,  or  imperfectly, 
keep  their  own  proper  plurals. 

(a)  As  examples  of  the  first  kind,  we  have — 

Bandits,   cherubs,   dogmas,   indexes,    memorandums,  focuses,  formulas^ 
terminuses,  etc. 


CASE. 


19 


(b)  As  examples  of  the  second,  we  find — 


Singular. 

Plural. 

Singular. 

Plural. 

(1)  Latin 

Animalculum 

Animalcula. 

Radix 

Radices. 

Datum 

Data. 

Series 

Series. 

Formula 

Formulae. 

Species 

Species. 

Genus 

Genera. 

Stratum 

Strata. 

(2)  Greek 

Analysis 

Analyses. 

Ellipsis 

Ellipses. 

Axis 

Axes. 

Parenthesis 

Parentheses 

Miasma 

Miasmata- 

Phenomenon 

Phenomena. 

(3)  French 

Monsieur 

Messieurs. 

Madam 

Mesdames. 

(4)  Italian 

Bandit 

Banditti. 

Libretto 

Libretti.  ~ 

Dilettante 

Dilettanti. 

Virtuoso 

Virtuosi. 

(5)  Hebrew 

Cherub 

Cherubim, 

Seraph 

Seraphim. 

(i)  The  Greek  plurals  acoustics,  ethics,  mathematics,  optics,  politics,  etc., 
were  originally  adjectives.  We  now  say  logic — but  logics,  which  still 
survives  in  the  Irish  Universities — was  the  older  word. 

29.  Compounds  attach  the  sign  of  the  plural  to  the  leading 
■word,  especially  if  that  word  be  a  noun.  These  may  be  divided 
into  three  classes  : — 

{a)  When  the  plural  sign  is  added  to  the  Noun,  as  :  sons-in-law, 
hangers-on,  lookers-on,  etc. 

(6)  Wlien  the  compound  word  is  treated  as  one  word,  as  :  attorney- 
generals,  major-generals,  court-m/irtials,  spoonfuls,  handfuls,  etc. 

(c)  When  both  parts  of  the  compound  take  the  plural  sign,  as  :  men- 
servanis,  knights-templars,  lords- justices,  etc. 

Case. 

30.  Case  is  the  form  given  to  a  noun  to  show  its  relation  to 
other  words  in  the  sentence.  Our  language  has  lost  most  of 
these  forms ;  but  we  still  use  the  word  case  to  indicate  tho 
function,  even  when  the  form,  has  been  lost. 


(i)  The  word  case  is  from  the  Latin 
casus,  and  means  a  falling.  The  old  gram- 
marians regarded  the  nominative  as  the 
upright  case,  and  all  others  as  fallings 
from  that.  Hence  the  use  of  the  words 
decline  and  declension.  (Of  course  the 
nominative  cannot  be  a  real  case,  because 
it  is  upright  and  not  a  falling.) 


20  GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

31.  Wq  now  employ  five  cases ;  Nominative,  Possessive* 
Dative,  Objective,  and  Vocative. 

(i)  In  Nouns,  only  one  of  these  is  inflected,  or  has  a  case-ending — the 
Possessive. 

(ii)  In  Pronouns,  the  Possessive,  Dative,  and  Objective  are  inflected. 
But  the  inflexion  for  the  Dative  and  the  Objective  is  the  same.  Him 
and  them  are  indeed  true  Datives  :  the  old  inflection  for  the  Objective 
was  hine  and  hi. 

32.  The  following  are  the  definitions  of  these  cases  : — 

(1)  The  Nominative  Case  is  the  case  of  the  subject. 

(2)  The  Possessive  Case  indicates  possession,  or  some  sim- 
ilar relation. 

(3)  The  Dative  Case  is  the  case  of  the  Indirect  Object, 
and  also  the  case  following  certain  verbs. 

(4)  The  Objective  Case  is  the  case  of  the  Direct  Object. 

(5)  The  Vocative  Case  is  the  case  of  the  person  spoken 
to.     It  is  often  called  the  Nominative  of  Address. 

(i)  Nominative  comes  from  the  Lat.  nomindre,  to  name.  From  the 
same  root  we  have  nominee. 

(ii)  Dative  comes  from  the  Lat  dativus,  given  to. 

(iii)  Vocative  comes  from  the  Lat.  vocativus,  spoken  to  or  addressed. 

33.  The  Nominative  Case  answers  to  the  question  Who  ?  or 
"What?  It  has  always  a  verb  that  goes  with  it,  and  asserts 
something  about  it. 

34.  The  Possessive  Case  has  the  ending  's  in  the  singular ; 
°s  in  the  plural,  when  the  plural  of  the  noun  ends  in  n ;  and  ' 
only  when  the  plural  ends  in  s. 

1^^  The  possessive  case  is  kept  chiefly  for  nouns  that  are 
the  names  of  living  beings.  We  cannot  say  "the  book's 
page "  or  "  the  box's  lid,"  though  in  poetry  we  can  say  "  the 
temple's  roof,"  etc.  There  are  many  points  that  require  to  be 
specially  noted  about  the  possessive  :  — 

(i)  The  apostrophe  (from  Gr.  apo,  away,  and  strophe,  a  turning)  stands 
In  the  place  of  a  lost  e,  the  possessive  in  O.E.  having  been  in  many 
cases  es.  In  the  last  century  the  printers  always  put  hop\l,  walk'd, 
etc.,  for  hoped,  walked,  etc.     The  use  of  the  apostrophe  is  quite  modem. 


CASE.  21 

(ii)  If  the  singular  noun  ends  in  s,  we  often,  but  not  always,  write 
Moses'  rod,  for  conscience'  sake,  Phoebus^  fire  ;  and  yet  we  say,  and  ought 
to  gay,  Jones's  books,  Wilkins's  hat,  St  James's,  Chambers's  Journal,  etc. 

(iii)  We  find  in  the  Prayer-Book,  "  For  Jesus  Christ  his  sake."  This 
arose  from  the  fact  that  the  old  possessive  in  es  was  sometimes  written 
is ;  and  hence  the  corruption  into  his.  Then  it  came  to  be  fancied  that 
's  was  a  short  form  of  his.     But  this  is  absurd,  for  two  reasons  : — 

(a)  We  cannot  say  that  '•  the  girl's  book  "  is  =  the  girl  his  book. 
(6)  We  cannot  say  that  "  the  men's  tools  "  \&  =  the  men  his  tools. 

35.  How  shall  we  account  for  the  contradictory  forms  Lord's- 
day  and  Lady-day,  Thurs-day  and  Fri-day,  Wedn-es-day  and 
Mon-day,  and  for  the  curious  possessive  in  "Vtritenagemot  ? 

(i)  Lady-day  and  Friday  are  fragments  ^of  the  possessive  of  feminine 
Nouns  in  O.E.  An  old  feminine  possessive  ended  in  an,  which  was  then 
shortened  into  ladye,  lastly  into  lady.  So  with  Frija,  the  goddess  of 
love  ;  and  with  Moon,  which  was  naasculine.  Thus  we  see  that  in 
Lady-day,  Friday,  and  Monday  we  have  old  possessives.  The  word 
witenagemot  means  the  meet  or  meeting  of  the  witan,  or  wise  men, 
the  possessive  of  which  was  witSna. 

36.  The  Dative  Case  answers  to  the  question  For  whom  ? 
or  To  whom  ?  It  has  no  separate  form,  for  Nouns ;  and  in 
Pronouns,  its  form  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Objective.  But 
it  has  a  very  clear  and  distinct  function  in  modern  English- 
This  function  is  seen  in  such  sentences  as — 

(1)  He  handed  the  lady  a  chair. 

(2)  Make  me  a  boat ! 

(3)  Woe  worth  the  day  !    ( =  Woe  be  to  the  day  !) 

(4)  Heaven  send  the  Prince  a  better  companion  ! 

(5)  Heaven  send  the  companion  a  better  Prince  ! 

(6)  .  "  Sirrah,  knock  me  at  this  gate, 
Rap  me  here,  knock  me  well,  and  knock  me  soundly." 

(Shakespeare,  "Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  I.  ii.  31.) 

(7)  Methought  I  heard  a  cry  ! 

(8)  Hand  m.e  the  salt,  if  you  please. 

Some  grammarians  prefer  to  call  this  the  Case  of  the  Indirect 
Object ;  but  the  term  will  hardly  apply  to  day  and  me  in  (3) 
and  (7).  In  all  the  other  sentences,  the  dative  may  be  changed 
into  an  objective  with  the  prep,  to  ovfor. 


22  GEAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(i)  In  the  sixth  sentence,  the  me's  are  sometimes  called  Ethical 
Datives. 

(ii)  In  the  seventh  sentence,  methought  ia  —  it  seemed  to  me.  There 
were  in  O.E.   two  verbs — thynean,  to  seem  ;  and  thencan,  to  think. 

(iii)  In  the  eighth  sentence  the  phrase  if  you  please  is  =  if  it  please 
you,  and  the  you  is  originally  a  dative. 

37.  The  Objective  Case  is  always  governed  by  an  active- 
transitive  verb  or  a  preposition.  It  answers  to  the  question 
Whom  ?  or  "What  ?  It  is  generally  placed  after  the  verb.  Its 
form  is  different  from  that  of  the  Nominative  in  pronouns ; 
but  is  the  same  in  nouns. 

(i)  The  direct  object  is  sometimes  called  the  reflexive  object  when 
the  nominative  and  the  objective  refer  to  the  same  person — as,  "  /  hurt 
myself ;"  "  Turn  (thou)  thee,  0  Lord  ! "'  etc. 

(ii)  ^Yhen  the  direct  object  is  akin  with  the  verb  in  meaning,  it  is 
sometimes  called  the  cognate  object.  The  cognate  object  is  found  in 
such  phrases  as  :  To  die  the  death ;  to  run  a  race  ;  to  fight  a  fight,  etc. 

(iii)  A  second  direct  object  after  such  verbs  as  make,  create,  appoint, 
think,  suffer,  etc.,  is  often  called  the  factitive  object.  For  example  : 
The  Queen  made  him  a  general ;  the  Board  appointed  him  mxinager  ;  we 
thought  him  a  good  man,  etc. 

Factitive  comes  from  the  Latin  fac^re,  to  make. 

38.  The  difference  between  the  I^ominative  and  the  Vocative 

cases  is  this  :  The  Ilominative  case  must  always  have  a  verb 

with  it ;  the  Vocative  cannot  have  a  verb.     This  is  plain  from 

the  sentences  : — 

(i)  John  did  that, 
(ii)  Don't  do  that,  John  ! 

39.  Two  nouns  that  indicate  the  same  person  or  thing  are 
said  to  be  in  apposition ;  and  two  nouns  in  apposition  may  ba 
in  any  case. 

(i)  But,  though  the  two  nouns  are  in  the  same  case,  only  one  of 
them  has  the  sign  or  inflection  of  the  case.  Thus  we  say,  "  John  the 
gardener's  mother  is  dead."  Now,  both  John  and  gardener  are  in  the 
possessive  case;  and  yet  it  is  only  gardener  that  takes  the  sign  of 
the  possessive. 


PKONOUNS. 


PRONOUNS. 

1.  A  Pronoun  is  a  -word  that  is  used  instead  of  a  noun. 

We  say,  "John  went  away  yesterday;  he  looked  quite  happy." 
In  this  case  the  pronoun  he  stands  in  the  place  of  John. 

(i)  The  word  pronoun  comes  from  the  Latin  pro,  for  ;  and  nomen, 
a  name. 

(ii)  The  above  definition  hardly  applies  to  the  pronoun  /.  If  we  say 
/  write,  the  /  cannot  have  John  Smith  substituted  for  it.  We  cannot 
say  John  Smith  write.  I,  in  fact,  is  the  universal  pronoun  for  the 
person  speaking ;  and  it  cannot  be  said  to  stand  in  place  of  his  mere 
name.     The  same  remark  applies  to  some  extent  to  thou  and  you. 

9:  The  pronouns  are  among  the  oldest  parts  of  speech,  and 
have,  therefore,  been  subject  to  many  changes.  In  spite  of 
these  change-s,  they  have  kept  many  of  their  inflexions ;  while 
our  English  adjective  has  parted  with  all,  and  our  noun  with 
most. 

3.  There  are  four  kinds  of  pronouns :  Personal ;  Inter- 
rogative ;  Relative ;  and  Indefinite.  The  following  is  a 
table,  with  examples  of  each  : — 

PRONOUNS.  1 


Personal  Interrogative.  Relative.  Indefinite 

I.  Who?  Who.  One. 


PERSONAL    PRONOUNS. 

4.  There  are  three  Personal  Pronouns :  The  Personal  Pro- 
noun of  the  First  Person;  of  the  Second  Person;  and  of  the 
Third  Person. 

5.  The  First  Personal  Pronoun  indicates  the  person  speak- 
ing ;  the  Second  Personal  Pronoun,  the  person  spoken  to ; 
and  the  Third,  the  person  spoken  of. 

6.  The  First  Personal  Pronoun  has,  of  course,  no  distinc- 
tion of  gender.  It  is  made  up  of  the  following  forms,  which 
are  fragments  of  different  words  : — 

^  Demonstratives  are  treated  under  Adjectives. 


24  GRAMMAR   OF   THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


Singular. 

Plural. 

Nominative 

I 

We. 

Possessive 

Mine  {or  My) 

Our  {or  Ours). 

Dative 

Me 

Us. 

Objective 

Me 

Us. 

(i)  We  is  not  =  I  + 1 ;  because  there  can  be  only  one  /  in  all  the  world 
We  is  really  =  I  +  he,  I  +  you,  or  I  4-  they. 

(ii)  I  can  have  no  vocative  as  such.  If  you  address  yourself,  you 
must  say  Thou  or  You. 

(iii)  The  dative  is  preserved  in  such  words  and  phrases  as  "Me 
thinks"  ("it  seems  tome," — where  the  thi^ik  comes  from  thincan,  to 
seem,  and  not  from  ^hencan,  to  think);  '"'Woe  is  me;"  "  Give  me  the 
plate  ;  "  "If  you  please,"  etc. 

7.  The   Second   Personal   Pronoun    has    no    distinction   of 
gender.     It  has  the  following  forms  : — 


Singular. 

Plural. 

Nominative 

Thou 

You  {or  Ye). 

Possessive 

Thine  {or  Thy) 

Your  {or  Yours), 

Dative 

Thee 

You. 

Objective 

Thee 

You. 

Vocative 

Thou 

You  {or  Ye). 

(i)  Ye  was  the  old  nominative  plural ;  you  was  always  dative  or 
objective.     "  Ye  have  not  chosen  me  ;  but  I  have  chosen  you." 

(ii)  Thou  was,  from  the  14th  to  the  17th  century,  the  pronoun  of 
affection,  of  familiarity,  of  superiority,  and  of  contempt.  This  is  still 
the  usage  in  France  of  tu  and  toi.     Hence  the  verb  tutoyer. 

(iii)  My,  Thy,  Our,  Your  are  used  along  with  nouns;  Mine,  Thine, 
Ours,  and  Yours  cannot  go  with  nouns,  and  they  are  always  used  alone. 
Mine  and  Thine,  however,  are  used  in  Poetry  and  in  the  English  Bible 
with  nouns  which  begin  with  a  vowel  or  silent  h. 

8.  The  Third  Personal  Pronoun  requires  distinctions  of 
gender,  because  it  is  necessary  to  indicate  the  sex  of  the  person 
we  are  talking  of ;  and  it  has  them. 


Singular. 

Plural. 

Masculine. 

Feminine. 

Neuter. 

All  Genders. 

Nom. 

He 

She 

It 

They. 

Poss. 

His 

Her  {or  Hers) 

Its 

Their  {or  Theirs). 

Dat. 

Him 

Her 

It 

Them. 

Obj. 

Him 

Her 

It 

Them. 

INTERROGATIVE    PRONOUNS.  25 

(i)  Slie  is  really  the  feminine  of  the  old  demonstrative  se,  seo,  thaet ; 
and  it  has  supplanted  the  old  A.S.  pronoun  heo,  which  still  exists  in 
Lancashire  in  the  form  of  hoo. 

(ii)  The  old  and  proper  dative  of  it  is  Mm.  The  old  neuter  of  he  was 
Mtj  the  t  being  the  inflection  for  the  neuter. 

(iii)  Him,  the  dative,  came  to  be  also  used  as  the  objective.  The 
oldest  objective  was  hiue. 

9.  The  Personal  Pronouns  are  often  used  as  Reflexive 
Pronouns.  Reflexive  Pronouns  are  (i)  datives ;  or  (ii)  objec- 
tives ;  or  (iii)  compounds  of  self  with  the  personal  pronoun. 
For  example  : — 

(i)  Dative  :  "I  press  me  noue  but  good  householders,"  said  by  Fal- 
staff,  in  "King  Henry  IV.,"  I.  iv.  2,  16.      He  sat  him  down. 

"I  made  me  no  more  ado,"  I.  ii.  4,  223. 

"  Let  every  soldier  hew  him  down  a  bough." — Macbeth,  V.  iv.  6. 

(ii^i  Objective:  Shakespeare  has  such  phrases  as/ wAr25^  me;  I  disrobed 
me  ;   I  have  learned  Trie. 

(iii)  Compounds  :  /  bethought  myself ;  He  wronged  himself ;  etc. 


INTERROGATIVE    PRONOUNS. 

10.  The  Interrogative  Pronouns  are  those  pronouns  which 
we  use  in  asking  questions.  They  are  who,  which,  what,  and 
whether. 

(i)  The  word  interrogative  comes  from  the  Latin  interrogdre,  to  ask. 
Hence  also  interrogation,  interrogatory,  etc. 

11.  Who  is  both  masculine  and  feminine,  and  is  used  only  of 
persons.  Its  neuter  is  what.  (The  t  in  what,  as  in  that,  is 
the  old  suffix  for  the  neuter  gender.)  The  possessive  is  whose ; 
the  objective  whom.     The  following  are  the  forms  : — • 

Singular  and  Plural. 


Masculine. 

Feminine. 

Neuter. 

Nominative 

Who 

Who 

What. 

Possessive 

Whose 

Whose 

[Whose.] 

Objective 

Whom 

Whom 

What. 

26  GRAMMAR   OF   THE  ENGLISH.  LANGUAGE. 

(i)  Who-m  is  really  a  dative,  like  hi-m.  But  we  now  use  it  only  as  an 
objective. 

(ii)  Whose  may  be  used  of  neuters  ;  but  it  is  almost  invariably  em- 
ployed of  persons  only. 

12.  Which — formerly  liwilc — is  a  compound  word,  made  up 
of  hwi,  the  instr.   case  of  the   Old  English  hwa,   who,  and 

lie  =  like.  It  therefore  really  means.  Of  ivliat  sort  ?  It  now 
asks  for  one  out  of  a  number ;  as,  "  Here  are  several  kinds  of 
fruits  :  which  will  you  have  % " 

13.  Whether  is  also  a  compound  word,  made  up  of  -who  + 
ther ;  and  it  means,  Which  of  the  two  ? 

(i)  The  iher  in  whether  is  the  same  as  the  ther  in  neither,  etc. 

RELATIVE    OR    CONJUNCTIVE    PRONOUNS. 

14.  A  Relative  Pronoun  is  a  pronoun  which  possesses  two 
functions :  (i)  it  stands  for  a  noun  ;  and  (ii)  it  joins  two  sen- 
tences together.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  both  a  pronoun  and  a  con- 
junction. For  example,  we  say,  "  This  is  the  man  whose  apples 
we  bought."  This  statement  is  made  up  of  two  sentences  :  (i) 
''This  is  the  man;"  and  (ii)  "We  bought  his  apples."  The 
relative  pronoun  whose  joins  together  the  two  sentences. 

(i)  Relative  Pronouns  might  also  be  called  conjunctive  pronouns. 

(ii)  Whose,  in  the  above  sentence,  is  called  relative,  because  it  relates 
to  the  word  man.     Man  is  called  its  antecedent,  or  goer-hefore. 

The  word  antecedent  comes  from  tlie  Lat.  ante,  before ;  and  cedo,  I  go. 

15.  The  Relative   Pronouns  are  that;  who,  which;  what. 

As  and  but  are  also  employed  as  relatives. 

(i)  Who,  which,  and  what  are  also  combined  with  so  and  ever,  and 
form  Compound  Relatives ;  such  as  whoso,  whosoever,  whatsoever, 
and  whichsoever. 

(ii)  That  is  the  oldest  of  our  relative  pronouns.  It  is  really  the  neuter 
of  the  old  demonstrative  adj.,  se,  seo,  thaet.  It  differs  from  who  in  two 
respects  :  (a)  It  cannot  be  used  after  a  preposition.  We  cannot  say, 
"This  is  the  man  with  that  I  went."  (b)  It  is  generally  employed  to 
limit,  distinguish,  and  define.  Thus  we  say,  "  The  house  that  I  built  is 
for  sale."  Here  the  sentence  that  I  built  is  an  adjective,  limiting  or  de- 
fying the  noun  house.     Hence  it  has  been  called  the  defining  relative. 


INDEFINITE   PEONOUNS.  "27 

Who  or  wMch  introduces  a  new  fact  about  the  antecedent ;  that  only 
marks  it  off  from  other  nouns. 

(iii)  Who  has  "Whose  and  whom  in  the  posses&ive  and  objective — both 
in  the  singular  and  in  the  plural. 

(iv)  Which  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  the  neuter  of  who.  It  is  tlie  form 
used  when  the  antecedent  is  the  name  of  an  animal  or  thing.  After  a 
preposition,  it  is  sometimes  replaced  by  where  ;  as  wherein  =  in  which  ; 
whereto  =  to  which. 

V   /(v)  What  performs  the  function  of  a  compound  relative  =  that  +  which. 
Jj*  If  we  examine  its  function  in  different  sentences,  we  shall  find  that  it 
0   ;jinay  be  equivalent  to — 
*    J;    (a)  Two  Nominatives  ;  as  in   'This  is  what  he  is"  (  =  the  person  that). 
/Jl      (6)  Two  Objectives ;  as  in  "  He  has  what  he  asked  for  "  ( =  the  thing  that). 
./   i     (c)  Nom.  and  Obj. ;  as  in  "  This  is  what  he  asked  for  "  (  =  the  thing  that). 
'  \K       {d)  Obj.  and  Nom. ;  as  in  "  I  know  what  he  is  "  ( =  the  person  that), 

1^    1       (vi)  As  is  the  proper  relative  after  the  adjectives  such  and  same. 
i:^      '  "This  is  the  same  as  I  had"  is  =  " This  is  the  same  as  that  which 
I  had." 

(vii)  But  is  the  proper  relative  after  a  negative  ;  as  "  There  was  no 
man  but  would  have  died  for  her."  Here  but  =  who  +  not.  (This  is 
.like  the  Latin  use  of  quin  =  qui  +  non). 


INDEFINITE    PRONOUNS. 

16.  An  Indefinite  Pronoun  is  a  pronoun  that  does  not  stand 
in  the  place  of  a  noun  which  is  the  name  for  a  definite  person 
or    thing,  but  is  used  vaguely,  and  without  a  distinct  reference. 

17.  The  chief  Indefinite  Pronouns  are  one,  none ;  any ; 
other ;  and  some. 

(i)  One  is  the  best  instance  of  an  indefinite  pronoun.     It  is  simply  the 
cardinal  one  used  as  a  pronoun.     In  O.E.  we  used  man ;  and  we  still  find^ 
one  example  in  the  Bible — Zech.  xiii.  5  :  "  Man  taught  me  to  keep  cattle'^ 
from  my  youth."     One,  as  an  indefinite  pronoun,  has  two  peculiarities.' 
It  (a)  can  be  put  in  the  possessive  case  ;    and   (6)  can  take  a  plural 
form.    Thus  we  can  say  :  (a)  "  One  can  do  what  one  likes  with  one's  own  ; " 
and  (6)  "  I  want  some  big  ones." 

(ii)  None  is  the  negative  of  one.  "  None  think  the  great  unhappy 
but  the  great."  But  none  is  generally  plural.  No  (the  adjective)  is  a 
short  form  of  none;  Qg  /y  I'l^  ^f  f^fi  ■   pj,pd  m?/  of  mine.  > 

(iii)  Any  is  derived  from  an,  a  form  of  one.  It  may  be  used  as  an 
adjective  also — either  with  a  singular  or  a  plural  noun.  When  used  as  a 
pronoun,  it  is  generally  plural. 


28  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(iv)  Other  is  =  an  ther.  The  tlier  is  the  same  as  that  in  either, 
whether;  and  it  always  indicates  that  one  of  two  is  taken  into  the 
mind, 

(v)  Some  is  either  singular  or  plural.  It  is  singular  in  the  phrase 
Some  one ;  in  all  other  instances,  it  is  a  plural  pronoun. 


ADJECTIVES. 

1.  An  Adjective  is  a  word  that  goes  with  a  noun  to  describe 
or  point  out  the  thing  denoted  by  the  noun — and  hence  to  limit 
the  application  of  the  noun  ;  or,  more  simply, — 

Adjectives  are  noun-marking  words. 

(i)  Adjectives  do  not  assert  explicitly,  like  verbs.  They  assert  im- 
plicitly. Hence  they  are  implicit  predicates.  Thus,  if  I  say,  "  I  met 
three  old  men,"  I  make  three  statements  :  (1)  I  met  men  ;  (2)  The  men 
were  old  ;  (3)  The  men  w^ere  three  in  number.  But  these  statements 
are  not  explicitly  made. 

(ii)  Adjectives  enlarge  tlie  content,  but  limit  the  extent  of  the  idea 
expressed  by  the  noun.  Thus  when  we  say  "  ichite  horses,"  we  put  a 
larger  content  into  the  idea  of  horse  ;  but,  as  there  are  fewer  white 
horses  than  horses,  we  limit  the  extent  of  the  notion. 

2.  An  adjective  cannot  stand  by  itself.  It  must  have  with 
it  a  noun  either  expressed  or  understood.  In  the  sentence 
"The  good  are  happy,"  2^^^^^ons  is  understood  after  good. 

3.  Adjectives  are  of  four  kinds.  They  are  (i)  Adjectives  of 
Quality;  (ii)  Adjectives  of  Quantity;  (iii)  Adjectives  of 
Number ;  (iv)  Demonstrative  Adjectives.  Or  we  may  say, — 
Adjectives  are  divided  into 

ADJECTIVES 


Qualitative.  Quantitative.  Numbering.  Demonstrative. 

These  four  answer,  respectively,  to  the  questions — 
(i)  Of  what  sort  ?  (ii)  How  much  ?  (iii)  How  many  ?  (iv)  Which  ? 

4.  Qualitative  Adjectives  denote  a  quality  of  the  subject  or 
thing  named  by  the  noun ;  such  as  hlue,  icliite ;  licipjjy,  sad ; 
hig,)  little. 

(i)  The  word  qualitaiive  comes  from  the  Lat.  qualis—ot  what  sort. 
(ii)  Most  of  these  adjectives  admit  ef  degrees  of  comparison. 


ADJECTIVES.  29 

5.  Quantitative  Adjectives  denote  either  quantity  or  in- 
definite number ;  and  they  can  go  either  (i)  with  the  singular, 
or  (ii)  with  the  plural  of  nouns,  or  (iii)  with  both.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  list : — 

Any.  Certain.  Few.  Much.  Some. 

All,  Divers.  Little.  No.  Whole. 

Both.  Enough.  Many.  Several. 

(i)  We  find  the  phrases  :  Little  need  ;  little  wool ;  much  pleasure ;  more 
sense ;  some  sleep,  etc. 

(ii)  We  find  the  phrases:  All  m,en;  any  persons;  both  boys;  several 
'pounds,  etc. 

(iii)  We  find  the  phrases:  Any  man  and  any  men;  no  mxin  and  no 
men ;  enough  corn  and  soldiers  enough ;  some  boy  and  some  boys,  etc. 

6.  Numbering  or  Numeral  Adjectives  express  the  number  of 

the  things  or  persons  indicated  by  the  noun.  They  are  generally 
divided  into  Cardinal  Numerals  and  Ordinal  Numerals. 
But  Ordinal  N'umerals  are  in  reality  Demonstrative  Adjectives. 

(i)  Numeral  comes  from  the  Lat.  numerus,  a  number.  Hence  also 
come  numerous,  numerical,  and  number  (the  b  serves  as  a  cushion  between 
the  m  and  the  r). 

(ii)  Cardinal  comes  from  the  Lat.  cardo,  a  hinge. 

(iii)  Ordinal  comes  from  the  Lat.  ordo,  order. 

7.  Demonstrative  Adjectives  are  those  which  are  used  to 
point  out  the  thing  expressed  by  the  noun ;  and,  besides  indi- 
cating a  person  or  thing,  they  also  indicate  a  relation  either  to 
the  speaker  or  to  something  else. 

(i)  Demonstrative  comes  from  the  Lat,  demonstro,  I  point  out.     From  the  same 
root  come  monster,  monstrous,  &c. 

8.  Demonstrative  Adjectives  are  of  three  kinds  ;  (i)  Articles  ; 
(ii)  Adjective  Pronouns  (often  so  called) ;  and  (iii)  the  Ordinal 
Numerals. 

(i)  There  are  two  articles  (better  call  them  distinguisMng  adjectives) 
in  our  language  :  a  and  the.  a  is  a  broken-down  form  of  ane,  the 
northern  form  of  one ;  and  before  a  vowel  or  silent  h  it  retains  the  n. 
In  some  phrases  a  has  its  old  sense  of  one;  as  in  "two  of  a  trade  ; "  "all 
of  a  size,"  etc. 

"An  two  men  ride  on  a  horse,  one  must  ride  behind." 

Shakespeare  (Much  Ado  about  Nothing,  III.  v.  40). 


30  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(ii)  We  must  be  careful  to  distinguish  the  article  a  from  the  broken- 
down  preposition  a  in  the  phrase  "twice  a  week."  This  latter  a  is  a 
fragment  of  on;  and  the  plu"ase  in  O.E.  was  "tuwa  on  wucan."  Simi- 
larly, the  in  "  the  book  "  is  not  the  same  as  the  in  "  the  more  the  merrier."' 
The  latter  is  an  old  case  (instrumental)  of  thaet ;  and  is  =  by  that. 

•  (iii)  Adjective  Pronouns  or  Pronominal  Adjectives  are  so  called  be- 
cause they  can  be  used  either  as  adjectives  with  the  noun,  or  as 
pronouns  for  the  noun.  They  are  divided  into  the  following  four 
classes  :• —  ' 

(a)  Demonstrative  Adjective  Pronouns  —  This,  these  ;  that,  those  ; 
yon,  yonder. 

(6)  Interrogative  Adjective  Pronouns — Which  ?  what  1  whether  (of 
the  two)  ? 

(c)  Distributive  Adjective  Pronouns — Each,  every,  either,  neither. 

(d)  Possessive  Adjective  Pronouns — My,  thy,  his,  her,  etc.  (These 
words  perform  a  double  function.  They  are  adjectives,  because  they 
go  with  a  noun  ;  and  pronouns,  because  they  stand  for  the  noun  or 
name  of  the  person  speaking  or  spoken  of.) 

(iv)  The  Ordinal  Numerals  are  :  First,  second,  third,  etc. 

9.  Some  adjectives  are  used  as  nouns,  and  therefore  take  a 
plural  form.  Thus  we  have  Romans,  ChHsticms,  superiors, 
elders,  ones,  others,  nobles,  etc.  Some  take  the  form  of  the 
possessive  case,  as  either^s,  neitliei'^s. 

(i)  The  plural  of  one  as  an  adjective  is  two,  three,  etc.  ;  of  one  as  a 
noun,  ones.  Thus  we  can  say,  "  These  are  poor  strawberries,  bring  me 
better  ones."  Other  numeral  adjectives  may  be  used  as  nouns.  Thus 
Wordsworth,  in  one  of  his  shorter  poems,  has — 

"The  sun  has  long  been  set ; 

The  stars  are  out  by  twos  and  threts  ; 
The  little  birds  are  piping  yet 
Among  the  bushes  and  trees." 

(ii)  Our  language  is  very  whimsical  in  this  matter.  We  can  say 
Romans  and  Italians ;  but  we  cannot  say  Frenches  and  Dutches.  Milton 
has  (Paradise  Lost,  iii.  438)  Chineses. 


NUMERALS. 

10.  Cardinal  Numerals  are  those  which  indicate  numbers 
alone.  Some  of  them  are  originally  nouns,  as  dozen,  hun- 
dred, thousand,  and  million;  but  these  may  also  be  used  as 
adjectives. 


NUMERALS.  31 

(i)  One  was  in  A.S.  an  or  ane.  The  pronunciation  wun  is  from  a  west- 
ern dialect.  It  is  still  rightly  sounded  in  its  compounds  atone,  alone, 
londy.     None  and  no  are  the  negatives  of  one  and  o  {  =  an  and  a). 

(ii)  Two,  from  A.S.  twegen  mas. ;  twa  fem.  The  form  twegen  appears 
in  twain  and  tioin,  the  g  having  been  absorbed. 

(iii)  Eleven  =  en  (one)  +  lif  (ten).     Twelve  =  twe  (two)  +  lif  (ten). 
(iv)  Thirteen  =  three  +  ten.     The  r  has  shifted  its  place,  as  in  third. 

(v)  Twenty  =  twen  (two)  +  tig  (ten).  Tig  is  a  noun,  meaning  "a  set 
often."     The  guttural  was  lost,  and  it  became  ty. 

(vi)  Score,  from  A.S.  sceran,  to  cut.  Accounts  of  sheep,  cattle,  etc., 
were  kept  by  notches  on  a  stick  ;  and  the  twentieth  notch  was  made 
deeper,  and  was  called  the  cut — the  score. 

11.  Ordinal  Numerals  are  Adjectives  of  Relation  formed 
mostly  from  the  Cardinals.  They  are  :  First,  Second,  Third, 
Fourth,  etc. 

(i)  First  is  the  superlative  of  fore,  with  vowel-change. 

(ii)  Second  is  not  Eng.  but  Latin.  The  O.E.  for  second  was  other. 
Second  comes  (through  French)  from  the  Latin,  secundus,  following — 
that  is,  following  the  first.  A  following  or  favourable  breeze  ("  a  wind 
that  follows  fast")  was  called  by  the  Romans  a  "secundus  ventus." 
Secundus  comes  from  Lat.  sequor,  I  follow.  Other  words  from  the 
same  root  are  sequel,  consequence,  etc. 

(iii)  Third,  by  transposition,  from  A.S.  thridda.  A  third  part  was 
called  a  thriding  (where  the  r  keeps  its  right  place)  ;  as  a  fourth  part 
was  a  fourthing  or  farthing.  Thriding  was  gradually  changed  into  Hiding, 
one  of  the  three  parts  into  which  Yorkshire  was  divided. 

(iv)  In  eigh-th,  as  in  eigh-teen,  a  t  has  vanished. 


THE    INFLEXION    OF    ADJECTIVES. 

12.  The  modern  English  adjective  has  lost  all  its  old  inflexions 
for  gender  and  case,  and  retains  only  two  for  number.  These 
two  are  these  (the  plural  of  this)  and  those  (the  plural  of  that). 

(i)  The  older  plural  was  thise — pronounced  these,  and  then  so  spelled. 
In  this  instance,  the  spelling,  as  so  seldom  happens,  has  followed  the 
pronunciation.  In  general  in  the  English  language,  the  spelling  and  the 
pronunciation  keep  quite  apart,  and  have  no  influence  on  each  other. 

(ii)  Those  was  the  oldest  plural  of  this,  but  in  the  14th  century  it 
came  to  be  accented  as  the  plural  of  that. 


32  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

13.  Most  adjectives  are  now  inflected  for  purposes  of  com- 
parison only. 

14.  There  are  three  Degrees  of  Comparison :  the  Posi- 
tive ;  the  Comparative ;  and  the  Superlative. 

(i)  The  word  degree  comes  from  the  French  degre,  which  itself  comes 
from  the  Latin  gradus,  a  step.  From  the  same  root  come  grade,  grad- 
ual, degrade,  etc. 

15.  The  Positive  Degree  is  the  simple  form  of  the  adjec- 
tive. 

16.  The  Comparative  Degree  is  that  form  of  the  adjective 
which  shows  that  the  quality  it  expresses  has  been  raised  one 
step  or  degree  higher.  Thus  we  say  shm'p,  sharper ;  cold, 
colder;  brave,  braver.  The  comparative  degree  brings  together 
only  two  ideas.  Thus  we  may  speak  of  "  the  taller  of  the  two," 
but  not  "  of  the  three." 

Comparative  comes  from  the  Lat.  compdro,  I  bring  together. 

17.  The  Comparative  degree  is  formed  in  two  ways  :  either 
(i)  by  adding  er  to  the  positive ;  or  (ii)  if  the  adjective  has  two 
syllables  (the  last  ending  in  a  consonant)  or  more,  by  placing 
the  adverb  more  before  the  adjective. 

KuLES  :  I.  A  silent  e  is  dropped  ;  as  brave,  braver. 

II.  A  y  after  a  consonant  is  changed  into  i  before  er,  etc. ;  as  happy, 
happier. 

III.  A  final  consonant  after  a  short  vowel  is  doubled  ;  as  red, 
redder;  cruel,  crueller. 

IV.  In  choosing  between  er  and  more,  sound  and  custom  seem  to 
be  the  safest  guides.  Thus  we  should  not  say  selecter,  but  more  select ; 
not  infirmer,  but  tnore  infirm.  Carlyle  has  beautifullest,  etc. ;  but  his  is 
not  an  example  to  be  followed. 

18.  The  Superlative  Degree  is  that  form  of  the  adjective 
which  shows  that  the  quality  it  expresses  has  been  raised  to  the 
highest  degree.  The  superlative  degree  requires  that  three 
things,  or  more,  be  compared.  Thus  "  He  is  the  tallest  of  the 
two  "  would  be  incorrect. 

Superlative  comes  from  theT,at.  supnlaUvvs,  lifting  up  above. 


ADJECTIVES. 


33 


19.  The  Superlative  degree  is  formed  in  two  ways  :  either  (i) 
by  adding  est  to  the  positive ;  or  (ii)  if  the  adjective  has  two 
syllables  (the  last  ending  in  a  consonant)  or  more,  by  placing 
the  adverb  most  before  the  adjective. 

(i)  Happiest ;  most  recent ;  most  beautiful. 

20.  Some  adjectives,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  ideas  they 
express,  do  not  admit  of  comparison.  Such  are  golden,  wooden; 
left,  right ;  square,  triangular ;  weekly,  monthly ;  eternal,  per- 
petual, etc. 

21.  The  most  frequently  used  adjectives  have  irregular 
comparisons.     The  following  is  a  list : — 


Pos- 

Com- 

Super- 

Pos- 

Com- 

SCPER- 

itive. 

parative. 

lative. 

itive. 

parative. 

lative. 

Bad 

worse 

worst. 

Late 

later 

latest. 

Evil 

worse 

worst. 

Late 

latter 

last. 

111 

worse 

worst. 

Little 

less 

least 

Far 

farther 

farthest. 

Many 

more 

most. 

[Forth] 

further 

furthest. 

Much 

more 

most. 

Fore 

former 

foremost. 

Nigh 

nigher 

nighest  (next) 

Good 

better 

best. 

Old 

older 

oldest. 

Hind 

hinder 

hindmost. 

Old 

elder 

eldest. 

[Rathe] 


rather 


[rathest.] 


(i)  Worse  and  worst  come,  not  from  had,  but  from  A.  S.  tvyrsa.  The 
s  in  worse  is  a  part  of  the  root  ;  and  the  full  comparative  is  really  worser, 
which  was  used  in  the  16th  century  (Shakespeare,  "  Hamlet,"  III.  iv. 
157).      Worst  =  loorsest. 

(ii)  The  th  in  farther  is  intrusive.  Farther  is  formed  on  a  false  anal- 
ogy ^\th.  further ;  as  could  (from  can)  is  with  would  (from  will).  Far- 
ther is  used  of  progression  in  space ;  further,  of  progression  in  reasoning. 

(iii)  Former  was  in  A.S.  forma  (  =  first).  It  is  a  superlative  form  with 
a  comparative  sense. 

(iv)  Better  comes  from  A.S.  6e^  =  good — a  root  which  was  found  in 
betan,  to  make  good,  and  in  the  phrase  to  boot  =  "  to  the  good." 

(v)  Later  and  latest  refer  to  time  ;  latter  and  last  to  position  in 
space  or  in  a  series.  Last  is  as  by  assimilation  from  latst ;  as  best  is  from 
betst. 

(vi)  Less  does  not  come  from  the  lit  in  little  ;  but  from  A.S.  laes-sa, 
from  the  base  las,  weak.     Least =laesest. 

(vii)  Nighest  is  contracted  into  next ;  as  highest  was  into  hext.  Thus 
gh+s=k+s=x. 


34  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(viii)  "We  say  "  the  oldest  man  that  ever  lived,  "  and  "  the  eldest  of 
the  family."  Older  and  oldest  refer  to  mere  number  ;  elder  and  eldest 
to  a  family  or  corporate  group. 

(ix)  Rathe  is  still  found  in  poetry.  Milton  has  "  the  rathe  primrose, 
that  forsaken  dies  ;"  and  Coleridge,  "  twin  buds  too  rathe  to  bear  the 
winter's  unkind  air."  The  Irish  pronunciation  ra?/^Aer  is  the  old  Eng- 
lish pronunciation. 

(x)  Hind  is  used  as  an  adjective  in  the  phrase  "  the  hind  wheels." 

22.   The  following  are  defective  comparatives  and  superla- 
tives : — 

Positive.  Comparative.  Superlative. 

[Aft]  after  

[In]  inner  innermost. 

[Out]  outer  (or  utter)  outermost  (or  uttermost). 

nether  nethermost. 

over  

[Up]  upper  uppermost. 

(i)  After,  as  an  adjective,  is  found  in  aftermath  and  afterthought. 

(ii)  In  is  used  as  an  adjective  in  the  word  in-side;  and  as  a  noun  in 
the  phrase  "  the  ins  and  outs  "  of  a  question. 

(iii)  In  the  inns  of  law,  the  utter-bar  (outer- bar)  is  opposed  to  the 
Inner-bar. 

(iv)  The  neth  in  nether  is  the  same  as  the  neath  in  beneath. 

(v)  The  ov  in  over  is  the  ove  in  above,  and  is  a  dialectic  form  of  up. 
It  is  still  found  in  such  names  as  Over  Leigh  in  Cheshire,  and  Over 
Dariven  in  Lancashire. 

(vi)  Hindmost,  uttermost,  are  not  compounds  of  most,  but  are 
double  superlatives.  There  was  an  old  superlative  ending  ema,  which 
we  see  in  Lat.  extremus,  supremus,  etc.  It  was  forgotten  that  this  was 
a  superlative,  and  est  or  ost  was  added.  Thus  we  had  hindema,  mid- 
ema.     These  afterwards  became  hindmost  and  midmost. 


THE    VERB. 

1.  The  Verb  is  that  "part  of  speech"  by  means  of  which 
we  make  an  assertion. 

It  is  the  keystone  of  the  arch,  of  speech. 

(i)  The  word  verb  comes  from  the  Lat.  verbum,  a  word.  It  is  so 
called  because  it  is  the  word  in  a  sentence.  If  we  leave  the  verb  out 
of  a  sentence,  all  the  other  words  become  mere  nonsense.     Thus  we  can 


THE   VERB. 


35 


say,  "  I  saw  him  cross  the  bridge."     Leave  out  saiv,  and  the  other  words 
have  no  meaning  whatever. 

(ii)  A  verb  has  sometimes  been  called  a  telling  word,   and  tliis  is  a 
good  and  simple  definition  for  young  learners. 

THE    CLASSIFICATION    0¥    VERBS. 

2.  Yerbs  are  divided  into  two  classes  —  Transitive  and 
Intransitive. 

3.  A  Transitive  Verb  denotes  an  action  or  feeling  which, 
as  it  were,  passes  over  from  the  doer  of  the  action  to  the 
object  of  it.  "  The  boy  broke  the  stick ; "  "he  felled  the 
tree ; "  "  he  hates  walking." 

In  these  sentences  we  are  able  to  think  of  the  action  of  breaking  and 
felling  as  passing  over  to  the  stick  and  the  tree. 

Transitive  comes  from  the  Lat.  verb  translre,  to  pass  over. 

The  more  correct  definition  is  this  : — 

A  Transitive  Verb  is  a  verb  that  requires  an  object. 

This  definition  covers  the  instances  of  have,  own,  possess,  inherit,  etc., 
as  well  as  breah,  strike,  fell,  etc. 

4.  An  Intransitive  Verb  denotes  a  state,  feeling,  or  action 
which  does  not  pass  over,  but  which  terminates  in  the  doer  or 
agent.      "  He  sleeps  ; "   "  she  walks  ; "  "  the  grass  grows." 

5.  There  is,  in  general,  nothing  in  the  look  or  appearance 
of  the  verb  which  will  enable  us  to  tell  Avhether  it  is  transitive 
or  intransitive.  A  transitive  verb  may  be  used  intransitively ; 
an  intransitive  verb,  transitively.  In  a  few  verbs  we  possess 
a  causative  form.     Thus  we  have  :— 


Intransitive. 

Causative. 

Intransitive. 

Causative 

Bitei 

Bait. 

Lie 

Lay. 

Drink  ^ 

Drench. 

Rise 

Raise. 

FaU 

Fell. 

Sit 

Set. 

1  These  are  also  used  transitively. 

The    following    exceptional    usages    should    be    diligently 
noted  : — 

I.  Intransitive  verbs  may  be  used  transitively.     Thus— 


(i)  (a)  He  walked  to  London, 
(a)  The  eagle  flew. 


(h)  He  walked  his  horse. 
(6)  The  boy  flew  his  kite. 


36  GRAMMAR    OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(ii)  ^Vhen  the  intransitive  verb   is  compounded  with  a  pre- 
position eitlier  (i)  separable,  or  (ii)  inseparable. 

(i)  (a)  He  laughed.  (6)  He  laughed-at  me. 

(ii)  (a)  He  came.  (6)  He  overcame  the  enemy, 

(iii)  (a)  He  spoke.  (6)  He  bespoke  a  pair  of  boots. 

Such  verbs  are  sometimes  called  "  Prepositional  Verbs." 

ir.  Transitive  verbs  may  be  used  intransitively — 
(i)  With  the  pronoun  itself  understood  : — 

(a)  He  broke  the  dish.  {b)  The  sea  breaks  on  the  rocks, 

(a)  She  shut  the  door.  (6)  The  do^r  shut  suddenly, 

(a)  They  moved  the  table.  (6)  The  table  moved. 

(ii)  When  the  verb  describes  a  fact  perceived  by  the  senses  :— 

(a)  He  cut  the  beef.  (6)  The  beef  cuts  tough, 

(a)  He  sold  the  books.  (b)  The  books  sell  •well. 

(a)  She  smells  the  rose.  [b)  The  rose  smells  sweet. 

The  following  is  a  tabular  view  of  the 

KINDS    OF   VEEBS. 


INTRANSITIVE.  TRANSITIVE. 


Of  State.  Of  action.  Active.  Passive. 

(Sleep.)  (Run.)  (Wound )  (Be  wounded.) 

THE    INFLEXIONS    OF   VERBS. 

6.  Verbs  are  changed  or  modified  for  Voice,  Mood,  Tense^ 
Number,  and  Person.  These  changes  are  expressed,  partly  by 
inflexion,  and  partly  by  the  use  of  auxiliary  verbs. 

(i)  A  verb  is  an  auxiliary  verb  (from  Lat.  auxUium,  aid)  when  its* 
own  full  and  real  meaning  drops  out  of  sight,  and  it  aids  or  helps  the 
verb  to  which  it  is  attached  to  express  its  meaning.  Thus  we  say,  "  Ho 
works  hard  that  he  may  gain  the  prize  ;  "  and  here  may  has  not  its  old 
meaning  of  power,  or  its  present  meaning  of  permission.     But — 

(ii)  If  we  say  "  He  may  go,"  here  may  is  not  used  as  an  auxiliary, 
but  is  a  notional  verb,  with  its  full  meaning ;  and  the  sentence  is  — 
"  He  has  leave  to  go." 


THE   VERB.  37 


Voice. 

7.  Voice  is  that  form  of  the  Verb  by  which  we  show 
whether  the  subject  of  the  statement  denotes  the  doer  of  the 
action,  or  the  object  of  the  action,  expressed  by  the  verb. 

8.  There  are  two  Voices  :  the  Active  Voice,  and  the  Passive 
Voice. 

(i)  When  a  verb  is  used  in  the  active  voice, 

the  subject  of  the  sentence  stands  for 

the  doer  of  the  action.     "  He  killed  the  mouse." 

(ii)  When  a  verb  is  in  the  passive  voice, 

the  subject  of  the  sentence  stands  for 

the  object  of  the  action.     "The  mouse  was  killed." 

Or   we   may   say   that,    in   the    passive   voice 
the  grammatical  subject  denotes  the  real 
object. 

(iii)  There  is  in  English  a  kind  of  middle  voice.  Thus  we  can  say, 
"He  opened  the  door"  (active);  "The  door  was  opened"  (passive); 
"The  door  opened"  (middle).  In  the  same  way  we  have,  "This  wood 
cuts  easily  ;  "  "  Honey  tastes  sweet ;  "  "  The  book  sold  well,"  etc. 

9.  An  Intransitive  Verb,  as  it  can  have  no  direct  object, 
cannot  be  used  in  the  passive  voice.  But,  as  we  have  seen, 
we  can  make  an  intransitive  into  a  transitive  verb  by  adding 
a  preposition ;  and  hence  we  can  say  : — ■ 

Active.  Passive. 

(a)  They  laughed  at  him.  (6)  He  was  laughed-at  by  them, 

(a)  The  general  spoke  to  him.       (b)  He  was  spoken-to  by  the  generah 

10.  In  changing  a  verb  in  the  active  voice  into  the  passive, 
we  may  make  either  (i)  the  direct  or  (ii)  the  indirect  object 
into  the  subject  of  the  passive  verb. 

Active.  Passive. 

1.  They  offered  her  a  chair.  (i)  A  chair  was  offered  her, 

(ii)  She  was  offered  a  chair. 

2.  They  showed  him  the  house.  (i)  The  house  was  shown  him. 

(ii)  He  was  shown  the  house. 

3.  I  promised  the  boy  a  coat.  (i)  A  coat  was  promised  the  boy. 

(ii)  The  boy  was  promised  a  coat. 

The  object  after  the  passive  verb  is  not  the  real  object  of  that  verb,  for 
a  passive  verb  cannot  rightly  take  an  object.  It  is  left  over,  as  it  were,  iiom.  the 
active  verb,  and  is  hence  sometimes  called  a  Retained  Object. 


38  GRAMMAR  OF   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

11.  The  passive  voice  of  a  verb  is  formed  by  using  a  part 
of  the  verb  to  be  and  the  past  participle  of  the  verb.  Thus 
"we  say — 

Active.  Passive.  Active.  Passive. 

I  beat.         I  am  beaten.         I  have  beaten.         I  have  been  beaten. 

(i)  Some  intransitive  verbs  form  their  perfect  tenses  by  means  of  the 
verb  to  be  and  their  past  participle,  as  "I  am  come  ;"  "He  is  gone." 
But  the  meaning  here  is  quite  different.  There  is  no  mark  of  anything 
done  to  the  subject  of  the  verb. 

(ii)  Shakespeare  has  the  phrases  :  is  run ;  is  arrived ;  are  marched 
forth  ;  is  entered  into  ;  is  stolen  away. 

Mood. 

12.  The  Mood  of  a  verb  is  the  manner  in  which  the  state- 
ment made  by  the  verb  is  presented  to  the  mind.  Is  a 
statement  made  directly?  Is  a  command  given?  Is  a  state- 
ment subjoined  to  another?  All  these  are  different  moods  or 
modes.  There  are  four  moods  :  the  Indicative ;  the  Impera- 
tive ;  the  Subjunctive ;  and  the  Infinitive. 

(i)  Indicative  comes  from  the  Lat.  indicdre,  to  point  out. 

(ii)  Imperative  comes  from  the  Lat.  imperdre,  to  command.  Hence 
also  emperor,  empress,  etc.  (through  French). 

(iii)  Subjunctive  comes  from  Lat.  subjungere,  to  join  on  to. 

(iv)  Infinitive  comes  from  Lat.  infinltus,  unlimited ;  because  the  verb 
in  this  mood  is  not  limited  by  person,  number,  etc. 

13.  The  Indicative  Mood  makes  a  direct  assertion,  or  puts 
a  question  in  a  direct  manner.  Thus  we  say  :  "  John  is  ill ;  " 
"Is  John  ill?" 

14.  The  Imperative  Mood  is  the  mood  of  command, 
request,  or  entreaty.  Thus  we  say  :  "  Go  !  "  "  Give  me  the 
book,  please  ;  "  "  Do  come  back  !  " 

(i)  The  Imperative  Mood  is  the  simple  form  of  the  verb  without  any 
inflexion. 

(ii)  It  has  in  reality  only  one  person — the  second. 

15.  The  Subjunctive  Mood  is  that  form  of  the  verb  which 
is  used   mainly  in   a  sentence    subjoined    to    a   principal 


THE   VERB.  39 

sentence, — and  which  does  not  express  a  fact  directly,  but 
only  the  relation  of  a  fact  to  the  mind  of  the  speaker. 
Most  often  it  expresses  both  doubt  and  futurity.  Thus  we 
say:  (i)  ''0  that  he  were  here  1 "  (ii)  "Love  not  sleep,  lest 
thou  come  to  poverty."  (iii)  "  Whoever  he  be,  he  cannot  be 
a  good  man." 

(i)  In  the  first  sentence,  the  person  is  not  here. 

(ii)  In  the  second,  the  person  spoken  to  has  not  come  to  poverty  ;  but 
he  may. 

(iii)   In  the  third,  we  do  not  know  who  the  person  really  is. 

(iv)  The  Subjunctive  Mood,  in  modern  English,  has  lost  many  of  its 
older  uses. 

16.  The  Infinitive  Mood  is  that  form  of  the.  verb  which 
has  no  reference  to  any  agent,  and  is  therefore  unlimited  by 
person  or  by  number.     It  is  the  verb  itself,  pure  and  simple. 

(i)  The  preposition  to  is  not  an  essential  part  nor  a  necessary  sign  of 
the  infinitive.  The  oldest  sign  of  it  was  the  ending  in  an.  After  may, 
can,  shall,  loill,  must,  hid,  dare,  do,  let,  make,  hear,  see,  feel,  need,  the 
simple  infinitive,  without  to,  is  still  used. 

(ii)  The  Infinitive  is  really  a  noun,  and  it  may  be  {a)  either  in  the 
nominative  or  (6)  in  the  obj.  case.  Thus  we  have:  (a)  "To  err  is 
human  ;  to  forgive,  divine  ; "  and  (b)  "  I  wish  to  go." 

(iii)  In  O.E.  it  was  partly  declined  ;  and  the  dative  case  ended 
in  anne  or  enne.  Then  to  was  placed  before  this  dative,  to  indicate 
purpose.  Thus  we  find,  "  The  sower  went  out  to  sow,"  when,  in  O.E. 
to  sow  was  to  sawenne.  This,  which  is  now  called  the  gerundial  infinitive, 
has  become  very  common  in  English.  Thus  we  have,  "I  came  to  see 
you  ;"  "A  house  to  let."  "To  hear  him  {=  on  hearing  him)  talk,  you 
would  think  he  was  worth  millions." 

(iv)  We  must  be  careful  to  distinguish  between  (a)  the  pure  Infinitive 
and  (6)  the  gerundial  Infinitive.     Thus  we  say — 

(a)  I  want  to  see  him.      (6)  I  went  to  see  him.     The  latter  is  thq 
gerundial  infinitive — that  is,  the  old  dative. 

(c)  The  gerundial  infinitive  is  attached  (1)  to  a  noun  ;  and  (2)  to  an 
adjective.     Thus  we  have  such  phrases  as — 

(1)  Bread  to  eat ;  water  to  drinh  ;  a  house  to  sell. 

(2)  Wonderful  to  relate;  quick  to  take  offence;  eager  to  go. 

17.  A  Gerund  is  a  noun  formed  from  a  verb  by  the  addition 
of  ing.     It  may  be  either  (i)  a  subject ;  or  (ii)  an  object ;  or 


40 


GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


(iii)  it  may  be  governed  by  a  preposition.  It  has  two  functions  : 
that  of  a  noun,  and  that  of  a  verb — that  is,  it  is  itself  a  noun, 
and  it  has  the  governing  power  of  a  verb. 

(i)  Reading  is  pleasant,  (ii)  I  like  reading,  (iii)  He  got  off  by  cross- 
ing tlie  river.  In  this  last  sentence,  crossing  is  a  noun  in  relation  to  by, 
and  a  verb  in  relation  to  river. 

Gerund  comes  from  the  Lat.  gero,  I  carry  on  ;  because  it  carries  on 
the  power  or  function  of  the  verb. 

(ii)  The  Genmd  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  three  other 
kinds  of  words  :  (a)  from  the  verbal  noun,  which  used  to  end  in  ung  ; 
(b)  from  the  present  participle ;  and  (c)  from  the  infinitive  with  to. 
The  following  are  examples  : — 


(a)  "Forty  and  six  years  was  this  tem- 
ple in  building."  Here  luilding  is  a 
verbal  noun. 

(b)  "Dreaming  as  he  went  along,  he 
fell  into  the  brook."  Here  dreaming  has 
the  function  of  an  adjective  agreeing  with 
he,  and  is  therefore  a  participle. 

(c)  "To  write  is  quite  easy,  when  one 
has  a  good  pen."  Here  to  write  is  a  pres- 
ent infinitive,  and  is  the  nominative  to  is. 
(It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  oldest 
infinitive  had  no  to,  and  that  it  still  exists 
in  this  pure  form  in  such  lines  as  "  Better 
dwell  in  the  midst  of  alarms,  than  reign 
in  this  horrible  place. " 


(a)  "He  was  punished  for  robbing  the 
orchard."  Here  rohhing  is  a  genmd,  be- 
cause it  is  a  noun  and  also  governs  a  noun. 

(h)  "  He  was  tired  of  dreaming  such 
dreams."  Here  dreaming  is  a  gerund, 
because  it  is  a  noun  and  governs  a  noun. 

(c)  "  He  comes  here  to  write  his  letters." 
Here  to  write  is  the  geruiidial  infinitive  ; 
it  is  in  the  dative  case ;  and  the  O.E. 
form  was  to  writanne.  Here  the  to  has 
a  distinct  meaning.  This  is  the  so- 
called  "infinitive  of  purpose;"  but  it  is 
a  true  gerund.  In  the  seventeenth  cen- 
turj',  when  the  sense  of  the  to  was  weak- 
ened, it  took  a  for, — "What  went  ye  out 
for  to  see  ? ' 


(iii)  The  following  three  words  in  ing  have  each  a  special  function 
(a)  He  is  reading  about  the  passing  of  Arthur  (verbal  noun). 
(6)  And  Arthur,  passing  thence  (participle),  rode  to  the  wood, 
(c)  This  is  only  good  ioT  passing  the  time  (gerund). 


18.  A  Participle  is  a  verbal  adjective.  There  are  two  par- 
ticiples :  the  Present  Active  and  the  Perfect  Passive.  The 
former  (i)  has  two  functions  :  that  of  an  adjective  and  that 
of  a  verb.    The  latter  (ii)  has  only  the  function  of  an  adjective. 

(i)  ** Hearing  the  noise,  the  porter  ran  to  the  gate."    In  this  sentence, 
hearing  is  an  adjective  qualifying  porter,  and  a  verb  governing  noise. 

(ii)  Defeated  and  discouraged,  the  enemy  surrendered. 

J@^  1.  We  must  be  very  careful  to  distinguish  between  [a)  the  gerund  in 
vn^,  and  (6)  the  participle  in  ing.     Thus  running  in  a  "  running  str^m  " 


THE   VERB.  41 

is  an  adjective,  and  therefore  a  participle.  In  the  phrase,  "  in  running 
along,"  it  is  a  noun,  and  therefore  a  gerund.     Milton  says — 

•'  And  ever,  against  eating  cares, 
Lap  me  in  soft  Lydian  airs  ! " 

Here  eating  is  an  adjective,  and  means  fretting ;  and  it  is  therefore  a 
participle.  But  if  it  had  meant  cares  about  eating,  eating  would  have 
been  a  noun,  and  therefore  a  gerund.  So  a  fishing-rod  is  not  a  rod 
that  fishes ;  a  frying-pan  is  not  a  pan  that  fries  ;  a  walking-stick  is  not 
a  stick  that  walks.  The  rod  is  a  rod  for  fishing ;  the  pan,  a  pan  for 
frying;  the  stick,  a  stick  for  walking;  and  therefore  fishing,  frying, 
and  walking  are  all  gerunds. 

2.  The  word  participle  comes  from  Lat.  participdre,  to  partake  of. 
The  participle  partakes  of  the  nature  of  the  verb.  (Hence  also  par- 
ticipate.) 

Tense. 

19.  Tense  is  the  form  which  the  verb  takes  to  indicate  time. 
There  are  three  times  :  past,  present,  and  future.  Hence  there 
are  in  a  verb  three  chief  tenses :  Past,  Present,  and  Future. 
These  may  be  represented  on  a  straight  line  : — 

TENSES. 

\ 

I  I  I 

Past.  Present.  Future. 

I  wrote.  I  write.  I  shall  write. 

(i)  The  word  tense  comes  to  us  from  the  Old  French  tens,  which  is 
from  the  Lat.  tempus,  time.  Hence  also  temporal,  temporary,  etc.  (The 
modern  French  word  is  temps.) 

20.  The  tenses  of  an  English  verb  give  not  only  the  time  of 
an  action  or  event,  but  also  the  state  or  condition  of  that 
action  or  event.  This  state  may  be  complete  or  incom.plete, 
or  neither — that  is,  it  is  left  indefinite.  These  states  are 
oftener  called  perfect,  imperfect,  and  indefinite.  The  con- 
dition, then,  of  an  action  as  expressed  by  a  verb,  or  the  con- 
dition of  the  tense  of  a  verb,  may  be  of  three  kinds.  It  may 
be— 

(i)  Complete  or  Perfect,  as  "Written. 

(ii)  Incomplete  or  Imperfect,  as     Writing, 
(iii)  Indefinite,  as  Write. 


42  GRAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

"We  noAV  have  therefore — 

TENSES. 


Past,  Present.  Future. 

I  I  I 


III  III  III, 

Perfect.    Indef.     Imperf.  Perfect.    Indef.     Imperf.  Perfect.    Indef.     Imperf. 

Had     Wrote.      Was  Have     Write.       Am  ShaU      Shall    Shall  be 

written.  ^vTiting.  written.  writing.  have      write,  writing. 

written. 

(i)  The  only  tense  in  our  language  that  is  formed  by  inflexion  is  the 
past  indefinite.     All  the  others  are  formed  by  the  aid  of  auxiliaries. 

(a)  The   imperfect  tenses   are   formed   by   be  +  the   imperfect 

participle. 
(6)  The  perfect  tenses  are  formed  by  have  +  the  perfect  par- 
ticiple. 

(ii)  Besides  had  written,  have  written,  and  will  have  written,  we  can  say 
had  been  writing,  have  teen  writing,  and  will  have  been  writing.  These 
are  sometimes  called  Past  Perfect  (or  Pluperfect)  Continuous,  Perfect 
Continuous,  and  Future  Perfect  Continuous. 

(iii)  "  I  do  write,"  "  I  did  write,"  are  called  Emphatic  forms. 

ISTUMBER, 

21.  Verbs  are  modified  for  Number.  There  are  in  verbs 
two  numbers  :  (i)  the  Singular  and  (ii)  the  Plural. 

(i)  We  say,  "  He  writes  "  (with  the  ending  s). 

(ii)  We  say,  "  They  write  "  (with  no  inflectional  ending  at  all). 

Person. 

22.  Verbs  are  modified  for  Person — that  is,  the  form  of  the 
verb  is  changed  to  suit  (i)  the  first  person,  (ii)  the  second 
person,  or  (iii)  the  third  person. 

Ci)  "  I  write."     (ii)  "  Thou  writest."     (iii)  "  He  writes." 

Conjugation. 

23.  Conjugation  is  the  name  given  to  the  sum-total  of  all  the 
inflexions  and  combinations  of  the  parts  of  a  verb. 

The  word  conjugate  comes  from  the  Lat.  conjugare,  to  bind  together. 


43 

24.  There  are  two  conjugations  in  English — the  Strong  and 
the  Weak.  Hence  we  have  :  (i)  verbs  of  the  Strong  Con- 
jugation, and  (ii)  verbs  of  the  Weak  Conjugation,  which 
are  more  usually  called  Strong  Verbs  and  Weak  Verbs. 
These  verbs  are  distinguished  from  each  other  by  their  way 
of  forraing  their  past  tenses. 

25.  The  past  tense  of  any  verb  determines  to  which  of  these 
classes  it  belongs  ;  and  that  by  a  twofold  test — one  positive  and 
one  negative. 

26.  (i)  The  positive  test  for  the  past  of  a  Strong  Verb 
is  that  it  changes  the  vowel  of  the  present,  (ii)  The  nega- 
tive test  is  that  it  never  adds  anything  to  the  present  to  make 
its  past  tense. 

(i)  Thus  we  say  write,  wrote,  and  change  the  vowel, 
(ii)  But  in  wrote  there  is  nothing  added  to  write. 

27.  (i)  The  positive  test  for  the  past  tense  of  a  Weak  Verb 

is  that  d  or  t  is  added  to  the  present,      (ii)  The  negative  test  is 

that  the  root-vowel  of  the  present  is  generally  not  changed. 

(i)  There  are  some  exceptions  to  this  latter  statement.  Thus  tell, 
told ;  buy,  bought ;  sell,  sold,  are  weak  verbs.  The  change  in  the  vowel 
does  not  spring  from  the  same  cause  as  the  change  in  strong  verbs. 
Hence — 

(ii)  It  is  as  well  to  keep  entirely  to  the  positive  test  in  the  case  of 
weak  verbs.  However  "strong"  or  "irregular"  may  seem  to  be  the 
verbs  teacli,  taught ;  seek,  sought ;  say,  said,  we  know  that  they  are 
weak,  because  they  add  a  d  or  a  t  for  the  past  tense. 

(iii)  In  many  weak  verbs  there  seems  to  be  both  a  change  of  vowel 
and  also  an  absence  of  any  addition.  Hence  they  looh  like  strong 
Terbs.  In  fact,  the  long  vowel  of  the  present  is  made  short  in  the  past. 
Thus  we  find  meet,  met ;  feed,  fed.  But  these  verbs  are  not  strong. 
The  old  past  was  mette  and  fedde  ;  and  all  that  has  happened  is  that 
they  have  lost  the  old  inflexions  te  and  de.  It  was  owing  to  the  addi- 
tion of  another  syllable  that  the  original  long  vowel  of  the  verb  was 
shortened.     Compare  nation,  national ;  vain,  vanity. 

(iv)  The  past  or  passive  participle  of  strong  verbs  had  the  sufl&i  en 
and  the  prefix  ge.  The  suffix  has  now  disappeared  from  many  strong 
verbs,  and  the  prefix  from  all.  But  ge,  which  in  Chaucer's  time  had 
become  y  (as  in  yeomen,  yronnen),  is  retained  still  in  that  form  in  the 
one  word  yclept.     Milton's  use  of  it  in  star -y -pointing  is  a  mistake. 


44 


GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


28.    The  following  is  an 


ALPHABETICAL   LIST   OF   STRONG  VERBS. 

(AH  strong  verbs  except  those  which  have  &  prefix  are  monosyllabic) 

The  forms  in  italics  are  weak. 


Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Abide 

abode 

abode. 

Fly 

flew 

flown. 

Arise 

arose 

arisen. 

Forbear 

forbore 

forborne. 

Awake 

awoke 

awoke 

Forget 

forgot 

forgotten. 

{awaked)       {awaked). 

Forsake 

forsook 

forsaken. 

Bear 

bore 

born. 

Freeze 

froze 

frozen. 

(bring  forth) 

Get 

got 

got,  gotten. 

Bear 

bore 

borne. 

Give 

gave 

given. 

(carry) 

Go 

went 

gone. 

Beat 

beat 

beaten. 

Grind 

ground 

ground. 

Begin 

began 

begun. 

Grow 

grew 

grown. 

Behold 

beheld 

beheld  (be- 

Hang 

liung 

hung. 

holden). 

{hanged 

hanged. 

Bid 

bade,  bid 

Hdden,  bid. 

Hold 

held 

held. 

Bind 

bound 

bound. 

Know 

knew 

known. 

Bite 

bit 

bitten,  bit. 

^  Lie 

lay 

lain. 

Blow 

blew 

blown. 

Ride 

rode 

ridden. 

Break 

broke 

broken. 

Ring 

rang 

rung. 

Burst 

burst 

burst. 

Rise 

rose 

risen. 

Chide 

chid 

chidden. 

Run 

ran 

run. 

chid. 

See 

saw 

seen. 

Choose 

chose 

chosen. 

Seethe 

sod{seethed)  sodden. 

Cleave 

clove 

cloven. 

Shake 

shook 

shaken. 

(split) 

Shine 

shone 

shone. 

Climb 

clomb 

{climbed). 

Shoot 

shot 

shot. 

Cling 

clung 

clung. 

Shrink 

shrank 

shrunk. 

Come 

came 

come. 

Sing 

sang 

sung. 

Crow 

crew 

crown 

{crowed). 

Sink 

sank 

sunk, 
sunken. 

Dig 

dug 

dug. 

Sit 

sat 

sat. 

Do 

did 

done. 

Slay 

slew 

slain. 

Draw 

drew 

drawn. 

Slide 

slid 

slid. 

Drink 

drank 

drunk, 

Sling 

slung 

slung. 

drunken. 

Slink 

slunk 

slunk- 

Drive 

drove 

driven. 

Smite 

smote 

smitten. 

Eat 

ate 

eaten. 

Speak 

spoke 

spoken. 

Fall 

fell 

fallen. 

Spin 

spun 

spun. 

Fight 

fought 

fought. 

Spring 

sprang 

sprung. 

Find 

found 

found. 

Stand 

stood 

stood. 

Fling 

flung 

flung. 

Stave 

itove 

staved. 

THE 

VERB. 

4^ 

Prea. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part 

Steal 

stole 

stolen. 

Thrive 

throve 

thriven 

Stick 

stuck,^ 

stuck. 

(thrived) 

(thrived). 

Sting 

stung 

stung. 

...Throw 

threw 

thrown. 

Stink 

stank 

stunk. 

Tread 

trod 

trodden, 

Stride 

strode 

stridden. 

trod. 

Strike 

struck 

struck. 

Wake 

woke 

(waked). 

String 

strung 

strung. 

[waked) 

Strive 
2^  Swear 

strove 

striven. 

Wear 

wore 

worn. 

swore 

sworn. 

Weave 

wove 

woven. 

Swim 

swam 

swum. 

Win 

won 

won. 

Swing 

swung 

swung. 

Wind 

wound 

wound. 

Take 

took 

taken. 

Wring 

wrung 

wrung. 

Tear 

tore 

torn. 

Write 

wrote 

written. 

It  is  well  for  the  young  learner  to  examine  the  above  verbs 
closely,  and  to  make  a  classification  of  them  for  his  own  use. 
The  following  are  a  few  suggestions  towards  this  task : — 

(i)  Collect  verbs  with  vowels  a,  e,  a ;  like  fall,  fell,  fallen. 

(ii)  Verbs  with  0,  e,  o ;  like  throw,  threw,  thrown, 
(iii)  Verbs  with  i,  a,  u  ;  like  begin,  began,  begun. 
(iv)  Verbs  with  i,  u,  u  ;  like  fling,  flung,  flung. 

(v)  Verbs  with  i,  ou,  ou  ;  like  find,  found,  found, 
(vi)  Verbs  with  ea,  O,  O ;  like  break,  broke,  broken, 
(■vii)  Verbs  with  i,  a,  i ;  like  give,  gave,  given, 
(viii)  Verbs  with  a,  o  or  oo,  a ;  like  shake,  shook,  shaken, 
(ix)  Verbs  with  i  (long),  o,  i  (short)  ;  like  drive,  drove,  driven. 

(x)  Verbs  with  ee  or  oo,  o,  o ;  like  freeze,  froze,  frozen ;  or  choose, 
chose,  chosen. 

29.  Weak  Verbs  are  of  two  kinds  :  (1)  Irregular  Weak ; 
and  (ii)  Regular  "Weak.  The  Irregular  Weak  are  such  verbs 
oS  tell,  told;  buy,  bought.  The  Regular  AVeak  are  such 
T7erbs  as  attend,  attended;  obey,  obeyed. 

(i)  The  Irregular  Weak  verbs  are,  with  very  few  exceptions,  mono- 
syllables, and  are  almost  all  of  purely  English  origin. 

(ii)  The  Regular  Weak  verbs  are  generally  of  Latin  or  of  French 
origin.  Since  the  language  lost  the  power  of  changing  the  root-vowel 
of  a  verb,  every  verb  received  into  our  tongue  from  another  language 
has  been  placed  in  the  Regular  Weak  conjugation. 


1  The  past  tenses  of  dig  and  stick  were  formerly  weak. 


46 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


30.  Irregular  Weak  verbs  are  themselves  divided  into  two 
classes :  (i)  those  which  keep  their  ed,  d,  or  t  in  the  past 
tense;  (ii)  those  which  have  lost  the  d  or  t.  Thus  we  find 
(i)  sleep,  slept ;  teach,  taught.  Among  (ii)  we  find  feed,  fed, 
which  was  once  fed-de ;  set,  set,  which  was  once  set-te. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  attend  to  the  following 
changes : — 

(i)  A  sharp  consonant  in  the  spoken  language  follows  a  sharp,  and  a 
flat  a  flat.  Thus  p  in  sleep  is  sharp,  and  therefore  we  cannot  say  sleeped. 
We  must  take  the  sharp  form  of  d,  which  is  t,  and  say  slept. 

(ii)  Some  verbs  shorten  their  vowel.  Thus  we  have  hear,  heard ; 
flee,  fled;  sleep,  slept,  etc. 

(iii)  Some  verbs  have  difPerent  vowels  in  the  present  and  past :  as 
tell,  told ;  buy,  bought ;  teach,  taught ;  work,  wrought.  But  it  is  not 
the  past  tense,  it  is  the  present  that  has  changed. 

(iv)  Some  have  dropped  an  internal  letter.  Thus  made  is  =  maked; 
paid = payed;  had  =  haved. 

(v)  Some  verbs  change  the  d  of  the  present  into  a  t  in  the  past.  Thus 
we  have  build,  built ;  send,  sent. 

(vi)  A  large  class  have  the  three  parts — present,  past,  and  passive 
participle — exactly  alike.     Such  are  rid,  set,  etc. 

The  following  is  an 


ALPHABETICAL    LIST    OF    IRREGULAR   WEAK   VERBS. 


Class  I. 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Bereave 

bereft 

bereft. 

DweU 

dwelt 

dwelt. 

Beseech 

besought 

besought. 

Feel 

felt 

felt. 

Bring 

brought 

brought. 

Flee 

fled 

fled. 

Burn 

burnt 

burnt. 

Grave 

graved 

graven. 

Buy 

bought 

bought. 

Have 

had 

had. 

Catch 

caught 

caught. 

Hew 

hewed 

hewn. 

Cleave 

cleft 

cleft. 

Hide 

hid 

hidden- 

(spHt) 

Keep 

kept 

kept. 

Creep 

crept 

crept. 

Kneel 

knelt 

knelt. 

Deal 

dealt 

dealt. 

Lay 

laid 

laid. 

Dream 

dreamt 

dreamt. 

Lean 

leant 

leant. 

THE 

VERB. 

4 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass  Part. 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Learn 

learnt 

learnt. 

Shear 

sheared 

shorn. 

Leap 

leapt 

leapt. 

Shoe 

shod 

shod. 

Leave 

left 

left. 

-  Show 

showed 

shown. 

Lose 

lost 

lost. 

Sleep 

slept 

slept. 

Make 

made 

made. 

Sow 

sowed 

sown. 

Mean 

meant 

meant. 

Spell 

spelt 

spelt. 

Pay 

paid 

paid. 

Spill 

spilt 

spilt. 

Pen 

pent 

pent. 

Strew 

strewed 

strewn. 

(penned) 

Sweep 

swept 

swept. 

Rap  (to 

rapt 

rapt- 

Swell 

swelled 

swollen. 

transport) 

Teach 

taught 

taught. 

Rive 

rived 

riven. 

Tell 

told 

told. 

Rot 

rotted 

rotten.^ 

Think 

thought 

thought. 

Say 

said 

said. 

Weep 

wept 

wept. 

Seek 

sought 

sought. 

Work 

wrought 

wrought.^ 

Sell 

f^old 

sold. 

worked 

worked. 

Shave 

shaved 

shaven. 

47 


1  Rotten  and  wrought  are  now  used  as  adjectives,  and  not  as  passive 
participles ;  cp.  wrought  iron,  rotten  wood. 


Ct.asr  IL 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Pres. 

Past. 

Pass.  Part. 

Bend 

bent 

bent. 

Meet 

met 

met 

Bleed 

bled 

bled. 

Put 

put 

put. 

Blend 

blent 

blent. 

Read 

read 

read. 

Breed 

bred 

bred. 

Rend 

rent 

rent. 

Build 

built 

built. 

Rid 

rid 

rid. 

Cast 

cast 

cast. 

^•Send 

sent 

sent. 

Clothe 

clad 

clad 

Set 

set 

set. 

(clothed)      (clothed). 

Shed 

shed 

shed. 

Cost 

cost 

cost. 

Shred 

shred 

shred. 

Cut 

cut 

cut. 

Shut 

shut 

shut. 

Feed 

fed 

fed. 

Slit 

slit 

slit. 

GUd 

gilt 

gilt  (gilded). 

Speed 

sped 

sped. 

(gilded) 

Spend 

spent 

spent. 

Gird 

girt 

girt. 

Spit 

spit 

spit. 

Hear 

heard 

heard. 

Split 

split 

split. 

Hit 

hit 

hit. 

Spread 

spread 

spread. 

Hurt 

hurt 

hurt. 

Sweat 

sweat 

sweat. 

Knit 

knit 

knit. 

Thrust 

thrust 

thrust. 

Lead 

led 

led. 

Wend 

wended 

wended. 

Lend 

lent 

lent. 

or  weni 

Let 

let 

let. 

Wet 

wet 

wet 

Light 

lit(ligh 

ted)  lit  (lig] 

tited). 

48 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


31.  Before  we  can  learn  the  full  conjugation  of  a  verb,  we 
must  acquaint  ourselves  with  all  the  parts  of  the  auxiliary- 
verbs — Shall  and  "Will ;  Have  and  Be. 

(i)  If  be  means  existence  merely  (as  in  the  sentence  God  is),  it  is 

1^    called  a  notiAQg,!  verb ;  'if  it  is  used  in  the  formation  of  the  passive 

voice,  it  is  an  am^iary  verb.     In  the  same  way,  bave  is  a  notional 

rerb  when  it  means  to  possess,  as  in  the  sentence,  "I  have  a  shilling." 

32.  The  following  are  the  parts  of  the  verb  Shall : — 

Indicative  Mood. 


Singular. 

1.  I  shall. 

2.  Thou  shal-t. 

3.  He  shall. 


Singular. 

1.  I  shoul-d. 

2.  Thou  shoul-cZ-st 

3.  He  shoul-cZ, 


Present  Tense. 

Plural. 

1.  We  shall. 

2.  You  shall 

3.  They  shall. 


Fast  Tense. 


Imp,  Mood 


Inf.  Mood 


Plural. 

1.  We  shoul-d 

2.  You  shoul-c?. 

3.  They  shoul-d 

-.       Participles 


33.  The  following  are  the  parts  of  the  verb  Will : — 


Indicative  Mood. 


Singular. 

1.  I  will. 

2.  Thou  wil-t. 

3.  He  will. 

Present  Tense. 

1. 
2. 
3. 

Plural. 
WewilL 
You  wilL 
They  wilL 

Singular. 

1.  I  would 

2.  Thou  woul-rf-st. 
8.  He  woul-rf. 

Past  Tense, 

1. 
2. 
3. 

Plural. 
We  woul-c?. 
You  woul-c?. 
They  woul-d. 

Imp.  Mood . 

Inf.  Mood  — 

_, 

Participles . 

(i)  Shall  and  will  are  used  as  Tense-auxiliaries.  As  a  tense-auxiliary, 
shall  is  used  only  in  the  first  person.  Thus  we  say,  I  sball  write  ; 
thou  Wilt  write  ;  he  will  write — when  we  speak  merely  of  future  time. 


THE  VERB.  49 

(ii)  Shan't  is  =  shall  not.  Won't  is  =  wol  not,  xool  being  another  form 
of  mill.     We  find  wol  also  in  wolde — an  old  spelling  of  would. 

(iii)  Sball  in  the,lst-pfirson  expresses  simple  futurity  ;  in  the  2d  and 
3d  persons,  aijtliority.  Will  in  the  1st  person  expresses  determination ; 
in  the  2d  and  3d,  only  futurity. 

34.  The  following  are  the  parts  of  the  verb  Have  : — 


Indicative 

Mood. 

1. 

2. 
3. 

Present  Indefinite 

Singular. 
I  have. 
Thou  ha-st. 
He  ha-8. 

Tense. 

Plural. 

1.  We  have. 

2.  You  have. 

3.  They  have. 

Present 

Perfect  Tense. 

1. 

2. 
3. 

Singular. 
I  have  had. 
Thou  hast  had. 
He  has  had. 

Plural. 

1.  We  have  had. 

2.  You  have  had. 

3.  They  have  had. 

Fast  Indefinite  Tense. 

Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  had.  1.  We  had. 

2.  Thou  had-st.  2.  You  had. 

3.  He  had.  3    They  had. 

Past  Perfect  (or  Pluperfect)  Tense. 

Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  had  had.  1.  We  had  had. 

2.  Thou  hadst  had.  2.  You  had  had. 

3.  He  had  had.  3.  They  had  had. 

Future  Indefinite  Tense. 

Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  shall  have,  1.  We  shall  have. 

2.  Thou  wilt  have.  2.  You  will  have. 

3.  He  will  have.  3.  They  will  have. 

Future  Perfect  Tense. 

Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  shall  have  had.  1.  We  shall  have  had. 

2.  Thou  wilt  have  had.  2.  You  will  have  had. 

3.  He  wilLhave  had.  3.  They  will  have  had. 

D 


50 


GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


Subjunctive  Mood. 
Present  Indefinite  Tense. 
Singular.  PluraL 

1.  I  have.  1.  We  have. 

2.  Thou  have.  2.  You  have. 

3.  He  have.  3,  They  have. 

• 
Present  Perfect  Tense. 
Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  have  had.  1.  "We  have  had. 

2.  Thou  have  had,  2.  You  have  had. 

3.  He  have  had.  3.  They  have  had. 

Past  Indefinite  Tense. 

Same  in  form  as  the  Indicative. 

Past  Perfect  Tense. 
Same  in  form  as  the  Indicative. 

Imperative  Mood. — Singular :  Have  ! 
Plural :  Have  ! 

Infinitive  Mood.— Present  Indefinite  :  (To)  have. 
Perfect :  (To)  have  had. 

Participles. — Imperfect :  Having. 

Past  (or  Passive)  :  Had. 

Compound  Perfect  {Aetive) :  Having  had. 


35.  The  following  are  the  parts  of  the  verb  Be 

Indicative  Mood. 


Singular. 

1.  I  am. 

2.  Thou  ar-t. 

3.  Heia. 


Present  Indefinite  Tense. 


Plural. 

1.  We  are. 

2.  You  are. 
S.  They  are. 


Present  Perfect  Tense. 
Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  have  been.  1.  We  have  been. 

2.  Thou  hast  been.  2.  You  have  been. 

3.  He  has  been.  3.  They  have  been. 


THE   VERB. 


51 


Past  Indefinite  Tense. 

Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  was.  1.  We  were. 

2.  Thou  wast  or  wert.  2.   You  were. 
B.   He  was.  3.   They  were. 

Past  Perfect  (Pluperfect)  Tense. 
Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  had  been.  1.   We  had  been. 

2.  Thou  hadst  been.  2,  You  had  been. 

3.  He  had  been.  3.  They  had  been. 

Future  Indefinite  Tense. 
I  shall  be,  etc. 

Future  Perfect  Tense. 
I  shall  have  been,  etc. 

Subjunctive  Mood. 

Present  Indefinite  Tense. 
Singular.  Plural, 

1.  I  be.  1.  We  be. 

2.  Thou  be.  2.  You  be. 

3.  He  be.  3.   They  be. 

Present  Perfect  Tense. 
Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  have  been.  1.  We  have  been. 

2.  Thou  have  been.  2.  You  have  been. 

3.  He  have  been.  3.   They  have  been. 

Past  Indefinite  Tense. 

Singular.  Plural. 

1.  I  were.  1.  We  were. 

2.  Thou  wert.  2.  You  were. 

3.  He  were.  3.  They  were. 


Past  Perfect  (Pluperfect)  Tense. 
(Same  in  form  as  the  Indicative. ) 
Singular.  Plural. 


1.  I  had  been. 

2.  Thou  hadst  been. 

3.  He  had  been. 


1.  We  had  been. 

2.  You  had  been. 

3.  They  had  been. 


52  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

Imperative  Mood. — Singular:  Be  ! 
Plural :  Be  ! 

Infinitive  Mood. — Present  Indefinite  :  (To)  be. 

Present  Perfect :  (To)  have  been. 

Participles. — Present :  Being. 
Past  :  Been. 
Compound  :  Having  been. 


/ 


We  find  the  short  simple  form  Be  !  in  Coleridge  s  line — 

"  Be,  rather  than  be  called,  a  child  of  God  !" 

(i)  It  is  plain  from  the  above  that  the  verb  Be  is  made  up  of  fragments 
of  three  difiterent  verbs.  As  when,  in  a  battle,  several  companies  of  a 
regiment  have  been  severely  cut  up,  and  the  fragments  of  those  that 
came  out  safely  are  afterwards  formed  into  one  company,  so  has  it  been 
with  the  verb  be.     Hence  the  verb  ought  to  be  printed  thus  : — 

Am  


was 


been. 


(ii)  Am  is  a  different  verb  from  was  and  been.  The  m  in  am  is  the 
same  as  the  m  in  me,  and  marks  the  first  person.  The  t  in  art  is  the 
same  as  the  th  in  thou,  and  marks  the  second  person.  Compare  wil-t 
and  shal-t.  Is  has  lost  the  suflfix  th.  The  Germans  retain  this,  and  say 
ist.  Are  is  not  the  O.E.  plural,  which  was  sind  or  sindon.  The  word 
are  was  introduced  by  the  Danes. 

(iii)  Was  is  the  past  tense  of  the  old  verb  wesan,  to  be.  In  some  of 
the  dialects  of  England  it  appears  as  wai — the  German  form. 

(iv)  Be  is  a  verb  without  present  or  past  tense. 

(v)  (a)  Be  is  a  notional  or  principal  verb  when  it  means  to  exist,  as 
"  God  is."  (&)  It  is  also  a  principal  verb  when  it  is  used  as  a  joiner  or 
copula,  as  in  the  sentence,  "John  is  a  teacher,"  where  the  is  enables  us 
to  connect  John  and  teacher  in  the  mind.  In  such  instances  it  is  called 
a  Copulative  Verb  or  Copula. 


THE   VERB.  53 

36.  The  Auxiliary  Verbs  have  different  functions. 

(i)  The  verb  Be  is  a  Voice  (and  sometimes  a  Tense)  Aux- 
iliary. It  enables  us  to  turn  the  active  into  the  passive  voice, 
and  to  form  the  imperfect  tenses. 

(ii)  May,  should,  and  let  are  Mood  Auxiliaries.  May  and 
should  help  us  to  make  the  compound  subjunctive  tenses ;  and 
let  is  employed  in  the  Imperative  Mood  to  form  a  kind  of  third 
person.     Thus  Let  Mm  go  is  =  Go  he  ! 

(iii)  Have,  Shall,  and  "Will,  are  Tense  Auxiliaries.  With 
the  aid  of  have,  we  form  the  perfect  tenses ;  with  the  help  of 
shall  and  will,  the  future  tenses. 

(iv)  Can  is  a  defective  verb  with  only  one  mood,  the  In- 
dicative, and  two  tenses,  the  Present  and  the  Past. 

Present.    I  can  ;  thou  canst,  etc. 
Past.         I  could  ;  thou  couldst,  etc. 

Could  is  a  weak  form.  The  I  has  no  right  there  :  it  has  crept  in  from 
a  false  analogy  with  should  and  would.  Chaucer  always  writes  coude  or 
couthe. 

(v)  May  is  also  defective,  having  only  the  Indicative  Mood 
and  the  Present  and  Past  Tenses. 

Present.   I  may  ;  thou  mayest,  etc. 
Past.         I  might ;  thou  mightest,  etc. 

The  O.E.  word  for  may  was  maegan.  The  g  is  still  preserved  in  the 
gh  of  the  past  tense.  The  guttural  sound  indicated  by  g  or  gh  has 
vanished  from  both. 

(vi)  Must  is  the  past  tense  of  an  old  verb  motan,  to  be 
able. 

It  is  used  only  in  the  Indicative  Mood,  sometimes  in  the  Present, 
sometimes  in  the  Past  Tense ;  but  the  form  is  th«  same  for  both 
tenses.  ^ 

It  expresses  the  idea  of  necessity. 


54  GRAMMAR   OF   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

37.  The  following  is  the  full  conjugation  of  a  verb 

ACTIVE     VOICE. 

Indicative  Mood. 

I.  Present  Indefinite  Tense. 
I  strike. 

Present  Imperfect  Tense. 
I  am  striking. 

Present  Perfect  Tense. 
I  have  struck. 

Present  Perfect  Continuous. 
I  have  been  striking. 

II.  Past  Indefinite  Tense. 
I  struck. 

Past  Imperfect  Tense. 
I  was  striking. 

Past  Perfect  (or  Pluperfect)  Tense. 
I  had  struck. 

Past  Perfect  (or  Pluperfect)  Continuous. 

I  had  been  striking. 

III.  Future  Indefinite  Tense. 
I  shall  strike. 

Future  Imperfect  Tense. 
I  shall  be  striking. 

Future  Perfect  Tense. 
I  shall  have  struck. 

Future  Perfect  Continuous. 
I  shall  have  been  striking. 

Subjunctive  Mood. 

I.  Present  Indefinite  Tense. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  strike. 

Present  Imperfect  Tense. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  be  striking. 


THE  VERB.  56 

Present  Perfect  Tense. 

(If)  I,  thou,  he  have  struck. 

Present  Perfect  Continuous. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  have  been  striking. 

II.  Past  Indefinite  Tense. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  struck. 

Past  Imperfect  Tense. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  were  striking. 

Past  Perfect  (or  Pluperfect)  Tense. 
(Same  in  form  as  the  Indicative.) 

Past  Perfect  (or  Pluperfect)  Continuous. 

(Same  in  form  as  the  Indicative.) 

Imperative  Mood. 

Present  Tense. 
Singular.     2.  Strike  (thou) !  Plural.    2.  Strike  (ye) ! 

Infinitive  Mood. 

1.  Present  Indefinite,        .        .  (To)  strike. 

2.  Present  Imperfect,        .         .  (To)  be  striking. 

3.  Present  Perfect,    .         .         .  (To)  have  struck. 

4.  Present  Perfect  Continuous,  (To)  have  been  striking. 

5.  Future  Indefinite,  •        .  (To)  be  about  to  strike. 

Participles. 

1.  Indefinite  and  Imperfect,       .        Striking. 

2.  Present  Perfect,    .         .         .         Having  struck. 

3.  Perfect  Continuous,      .         .        Having  been  striking. 

Gerunds. 
1.  Striking.  2.  To  strike. 

PASSIVE    VOICE. 

Indicative  Mood. 

I.  Present  Tense. 
I  am  struck  (am  being  struck). 

Present  Perfect  Tense. 
I  have  been  struck. 


56  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

II.  Past  Tense. 
I  was  struck  (was  being  struck). 

Past  Perfect  Tense. 
I  had  been  struck. 

III.  Future  Indefinite  Tense. 
I  shall  be  struck. 

Future  Perfect  Tense. 
I  shall  have  been  struck. 

Subjunctive  Mood. 

I.  Present  Tense. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  be  struck. 

Present  Perfect  Tense. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  have  been  struck. 

IL  Past  Tense. 
(If)  I,  thou,  he  were  struck  (were  being  struck). 

Past  Perfect  Tense. 

(If)  I  had  been  struck. 

Imperative  Mood. 

Present  Tense. 
Singular.     2.  Be  struck  !  Plural,     2.  Be  struck  ! 

Infinitive  Mood. 

1.  Present  Indefinite,  .        .        (To)  be  struck. 

2.  Imperfect,       ....        (None.) 

3.  Present  Perfect,     .        .        .        (To)  have  been  struck. 

Participles. 

1.  Past  Indefinite,      .        .        .  Struck. 

2.  Imperfect,       ....  Being  struck. 

3.  Present  Perfect,     .        .        .  Having  been  struck. 

4.  Future, Going  or  about  to  be  struck. 

Gerunds. 
(None.) 


ADVERBS.  57 


ADVERBS. 

1.  An  Adverb  is  a  word  which  goes  with  a  verb,  with  an 
adjective,  or  with  another  adverb,  to  modify  its  meaning  : — • 

(i)  He  writes  badly.     Here  badly  modifies  the  verb  writes. 

(ii)  The  weather  is  very  hot.  Here  very  modifies  the  adjective 
hot. 

(iii)  She  writes  very  rapidly.  Here  rapidly  modifies  writes,  and 
very,  rapidly. 

THE  CLASSIFICATION  OF   ADVERBS. 

2.  Adverbs — so  far  as  their  function  is  concerned — are  of 
two  kinds  :  (i)  Simple  Adverbs  and  (ii)  Conjunctive  Adverbs. 
(i)  A  Simple  Adverb  merely  modifies  the  word  it  goes  with. 
A  Conjunctive  Adverb  has  two  functions  :  (a)  it  modifies, 
and  (h)  joins  one  sentence  with  another.  Thus,  if  I  say  "  He 
came  when  he  w^as  ready,"  the  adverb  -when  not  only  modifies 
the  verb  came,  and  shows  the  time  of  his  coming,  but  it  joins 
together  the  two  sentences  "  He  came"  and  "  he  was  ready." 

3.  Adverbs — so  far  as  their  meaning  is  concerned — are  of 
several  kinds.  There  are  Adverbs  :  (i)  of  Time,  (ii)  of  Place, 
(iii)  of  Number,  (iv)  of  Manner,  (v)  of  Degree,  (vi)  of 
Assertion,  and  (vii)  of  Reasoning  : — 

(i)  Of  Time  :  Now,  then  ;  to-day,  to-morrow  ;  by-and-by,  etc. 

(ii)  Of  Place  :  Here,  there  ;  hither,  thither  ;  hence,  thence,  etc. 

(iii)  Of  Number  :  Once,  twice,  thrice  ;  singly,  two  by  two,  etc. 

(iv)  Of  Manner  :  Well,  ill ;  slowly,  quickly  ;  better,  worse,  etc. 

(v)  Of  Degree  :  Very,  little  ;  almost,  quite  ;  all,  half,  etc. 

(vi)  Of  Assertion :  Nay,  yea  ;  no,  aye  ;  yes,  etc. 

(vii)  Of  Reasoning  :  Therefore,  wherefore  ;  thus  ;  consequently. 

THE   COMPARISON   OF  ADVERBS. 

4.  Adverbs,  like  adjectives,  admit  of  degrees  of  comparison. 
Thus  we  can  say,  John  works  hard  ;  Tom  Avorks  harder ;  but 
"William  works  hardest  of  all. 


58 


GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


5.  The  following  are  examples  of 


Irregular  Comparison  in  Adverbs. 


Positive. 

Comparative. 

Superlative. 

Ill  {or  Badly) 

worse 

■worst. 

Well 

better 

best. 

Much 

more 

most. 

Little 

less 

least. 

Nigh  (or 

Near) 

nearer 

next. 

Forth 

further 

furthest. 

Far 

farther 

farthest. 

Late 

later 

last. 

latter 

latest. 

(Rathe) 

rather. 

(i)  Worse  (adv.)  comes  from  A.S.  "wyrs.     Shakespeare  has  tvorser. 

(ii)  Much  is  an  adverb  in  the  phrase  much  better. 

(iii)  Little  is  an  adverb  in  the  phrase  little  inclined. 

(iv)  Next  =  nighest ;  and  so  we  had  also  hext  =  highest  Near  i? 
i-eally  the  comparative  of  nigh. 

(v)  Farrer  would  be  the  proper  comparative.  Chaucer  has  farre, 
and  this  is  still  found  in  Yorkshire.  The  th  in  farther  comes  from  a 
false  analogy  with  forth,  further,  furthest. 

(vi)  Late  is  an  adverb  in  the  phrase  He  arrived  late. 

(vii)  "Till  rathe  she  rose,  half -cheated  in  the  thought." — Tennyson 
(*  Lancelot  and  Elaine '). 

CONNECTIVES. 

1.  There  is,  in  grammar,  a  class  of  words  which  may  be 
called  joining  words  or  connectives.  They  are  of  two  classes  : 
(i)  those  which  join  nouns  or  pronouns  to  some  other  word ; 
and  (ii)  those  which  join  sentences.  The  first  class  are  called 
Prepositions  ;  the  second  Conjunctions. 


PREPOSITIONS. 

2.  A-  Preposition  is  a  word  w^hich  connects  a  noun  or  pro- 
noun with  a  verb,  an  adjective,  or  another  noun  or  pronoun. 
(It  thus  shows  the  relation  between  things,  or  between  a  thing 
and  an  action,  etc.) 

(i)  He  stood  on  the  table.     Here  on  joins  a  verb  and  a  noun. 


CONNECTIVES.  59 

(ii)  Mary  is  fond  of  music.     Here  of  joins  an  adjective  and  a  noun. 

(iii)  The  man  at  the  door  is  waiting.     Here  at  joins  two  nouns. 

The  word  preposition  comes  from  the  Lat.  prce,  before,  and  positus,  placed. 
We  have  similar  compounds  in  composition  and  deposition. 

3.  The  noun  or  pronoun  which  follows  the  preposition  is  in 
the  objective  case,  and  is  said  to  be  governed  by  the  prepo- 
sition. 

(i)  But  the  preposition  may  come  at  the  end  of  the  sentence.  Thus 
we  can  say,  "This  is  the  house  we  were  looking  at."  But  at  still  gov- 
erns which  (understood)  in  the  objective.  We  can  also  say,  "  Whom 
were  you  talking  to  ?  " 

4.  Prepositions  are  divided  into  two  classes  :  (i)  simple ; 
and  (ii)  compound. 

(i)  The  following  are  simple  prepositions  :  at,  hy,  for,  in,  of,  off,  on, 
out,  to,  with,  up. 

(ii)  The  compound  prepositions  are  formed  in  several  ways  : — 

(a)  By  adding  a  comparative  suffix  to  an  adverb  :  after,  over. 

(b)  By  prefixing  a  preposition  to  an  adverb  :  above,  about,  before,  behind,  be- 
neath, but  (  =  'he-out),   throughout,  within,  etc. 

(c)  By  prefixing  a  preposition  to  a  noun :  aboard,  across,  around,  among,  be- 
tide, outside,  etc. 

(d)  By  prefixing  an  adverb  or  adverbial  particle  to  a  preposition  :  into,  upon, 
until,  etc. 

(iii)  The  preposition  but  is  to  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  con- 
junction but.  "  All  were  there  but  him."  Here  but  is  a  preposition. 
"  We  waited  an  hour  ;  but  he  did  not  come."  Here  but  is  a  conjunction. 
But,  the  preposition,  was  in  O.E.  be-utan,  and  meant  on  the  outside  of, 
and  then  without.  The  old  proverb,  "  Touch  not  the  cat  but  a  glove," 
means  "  without  a  glove." 

(iv)  Down  was  adown  =  of  down  =  off  the  down  or  hill. 

(v)  Among  was  =  ori  gemong,  in  the  crowd. 

(vi)  There  are  several  compound  prepositions  made  up  of  separate 
words  :  instead  of,  on  account  of,  in  spite  of,  etc. 

(vii)  Some  participles  are  used  as  prepositions  :  notwithstanding,  eon- 
ceming,  respecting.  The  prepositions  except  and  save  may  be  regarded 
as  imperatives. 

5.  The  same  words  are  used  sometimes  as  adverbs,  and  some- 
times as  prepositions.  "We  distinguish  these  words  by  their 
function.     They  can  also  be  used  as  nouns  or  as  adjectives. 


60  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

^)  Thus  we  find  the  following  words  used  either  as 

Adverbs  or  as  Prepositions. 

(1)  Stand  up  !  (1)  The  boy  ran  up  the  hill, 

(2)  Come  on  !  (2)  The  book  lies  on  the  table. 

(3)  Be  off!  (3)  Get  off  the  chair. 

(4)  He  walked  quickly  past,  (4)  He  walked  past  the  church. 

(ii)  Adverbs  are  sometimes  used  as  nouns,  as  in  the  sentences,  "  I 
have  met  him  before  now."     "  He  is  dead  since  then." 

(iii)  In  the  following  we  find  adverbs  used  as  adjectives:  "thine 
often  infirmities  ;  ■'  "  the  then  king,"  etc. 

(iv)  A  phrase  sometimes  does  duty  as  an  adverb,  as  in  "from  beyond 
the  sea  ;  "  "  from  over  the  mountains,"  etc. 

CONJUNCTIONS. 

6.  A  Conjunction  is  a  word  that  joins  words  and  sentences 

together. 

E.g. — "Two  and  three  are  five,"  or  "John  came  and  James  left." 
In  the  first  case  it  is  obvious  that  ."  and  "  joins  words  only,  as,  in  the 
second  case,  it  joins  sentences. 

7.  Conjunctions  are  of  two  kinds:   (i)  Co-ordinative ;   and 
(ii)  Subordinative. 

(i)  Co-ordinative  Conjunctions  are  those  which  connect  co-ordinate 
sentences  and  clauses — that  is,  sentences  neither  of  which  is  dependent 
on  the  other.  The  following  is  a  list :  And,  both,  but,  either — or,  neither 
— nor. 

(ii)  Subordinative  Conjunctions  are  those  which  connect  subordinate 
sentences  with  the  principal  sentence  to  which  they  are  subordinate. 
The  type  of  a  subordinative  conjunction  is  that,  which  is  really  the  de- 
monstrative pronoun.  "  I  know  that  he  has  gone  to  London  "  is  =  "  He> 
has  gone  to  London  :  I  know  that." 

(iii)  The  following  is  a  list  of  subordinative  conjunctions  :  After, 
before;  ere,  till;  while,  since;  lest;  because,  as;  for;  if;  unles$ ; 
though;  whether — or;  than. 


INTERJECTIONS. 

1.  Interjections  are  words  which  have  no  meaning  in  them' 
selves,  but  which  give  sudden  expression  to  an  emotion  of 
the  mind.  They  are  no  real  part  of  language ;  they  do  not 
enter  into  the  build  or  organism  of  a  sentence.  They  have  no 
grammatical  relation  to  any  word  in  a  sentence,  and  are  there* 


WORDS   KNOWN   BY    THEIR   FUNCTIONS.  61 

fore  not,  strictly  speaking,  "  parts  of  speech."  Thus  we  say,  Oh  ! 
Ah !  Alas !  and  so  on ;  but  the  sentences  we  employ  would  be 
just  as  complete — in  sense — without  them.  They  are  extra- 
grammatical  utterances. 

(i)  The  word  interjection  comes  from  the  Lat.  inter,  between,  and 
jactus,  thrown. 

(ii)  Sometimes  words  with  a  meaning  are  used  as  interjections.  Thus 
we  say,  Welcome  !  for  "  You  are  well  come, "  Good-bye  !  for  God  he  with 
you !  The  interjection  "  Now  then  ! "  consists  of  two  words,  each  of 
which  has  a  meaning  ;  but  when  employed  inter jectionally,  the  compound 
meaning  is  very  different  from  the  meaning  of  either. 

(iii)  In  written  and  printed  language,  interjections  are  followed  by  the 
mark  (!)  of  admiration  or  exclamation. 


^W'ORDS   KNO^NTN    BY   THEIR    FUNCTIONS, 
AND   NOT   BY   THEIR   INFLEXIONS. 

1.  The  Oldest  English.  — 'When  our  language  first  came  over 
to  this  island,  in  the  fifth  century,  our  words  possessed  a  large 
number  of  inflexions ;  and  a  verb  could  be  known  from  a  noun, 
and  an  adjective  from  either,  by  the  mere  look  of  it.  Yerbs 
had  one  kind  of  inflexion,  nouns  another,  adjectives  a  third ; 
and  it  was  almost  impossible  to  confuse  them.  Thus,  in  O.E. 
(or  Anglo-Saxon)  thunder,  the  verb,  was  thunrian — with  tlie 
ending  an;  but  the  noun  was  thunor,  without  any  ending  at 
alL  Then,  in  course  of  time,  for  many  and  various  reasons, 
the  English  language  began  to  lose  its  inflexions ;  and  they 
dropped  off  very  rapidly  between  the  11th  and  the  15th  cen- 
turies, till,  nowadays,  we  possess  very  fcAV  indeed. 

2.  Freedom  given  by  absence  of  Inflexions. — In  the  16th 
century,  when  Shakespeare  began  to  write,  there  were  very 
few  inflexions ;  the  language  began  to  feel  greater  liberty, 
greater  ease  in  its  movements ;  and  a  Avriter  would  use  the  same 
word  sometimes  as  one  part  of  speech,  and  sometimes  as  another. 
Thus  Shakespeare  himself  uses  the  conjunction  hut  both  as  a 
verb  and  as  a  noun,  and  makes  one  of  his  characters  say,  "  But 


62  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

me  no  buts  ! "  He  employs  the  adverb  askance  as  a  verb,  and 
says,  "From  their  own  misdeeds  they  askance  their  eyes."  He 
has  the  adverb  backivard  with  the  function  of  a  noun,  as  in  the 
phrase  "  The  backward  and  abysm  of  time."  Again,  he  gives 
us  an  adverb  doing  the  work  of  an  adjective,  as  in  the  phrases 
"my  often  rumination,"  "a  seldom  pleasure."  In  the  same 
way,  Shakespeare  has  the  verbs  "  to  glad  "  and  "  to  mad."  Very 
often  he  uses  an  adjective  as  a  noun;  and  "a  fair"  is  his  phrase 
for  "  beauty,"  —  "a  pale  "  for  "  a  paleness."  He  carries  this 
power  of  using  one  "  part  of  speech "  for  another  to  the  most 
extraordinary  lengths.  He  uses  happy  for  to  make  happy ; 
unfair  for  to  deface  ;  to  climate  for  to  live  ;  to  bench  for  to  sit  ; 
^i'^  false  for  to  falsify ;  to  path  for  to  walk;  to  verse  for  to  speak 
of  in  verse  ;  and  many  others.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  is 
where  he  uses  tongue  for  to  talk  of,  and  h^ain  for  to  think  of.  In 
"  C}TQbeline  "  he  says  : — 

"  'Tis  still  a  dream  ;  or  else  such  stuff  as  madness 
Will  tongue,  and  brain  not.    .    .   ." 

3.  Absence  of  Inflexions. — At  the  present  time,  we  have  lost 
almost  all  the  inflexions  we  once  had.  We  have  only  one  for 
the  cases  of  the  noun ;  none  at  all  for  ordinary  adjectives  (ex- 
cept to  mark  degrees)  ;  a  few  in  the  pronoun ;  and  a  few  in  the 
verb.  Hence  we  can  use  a  word  sometimes  as  one  part  of 
speech,  and  sometimes  as  another.  "\Ye  can  say,  "  The  boys  had 
a  good  run;"  and  "The  boys  run  very  well."  AYe  can  say, 
"The  train  travelled  very  fast,"  where  fast  is  an  adverb,  modi- 
fying travelled ;  and  we  can  speak  of  "a  fast  train."  "VYe  can 
use  the  phrase,  "  The  very  man,"  where  very  is  an  adjective 
marking  man ;  and  also  the  phrase  "A  very  good  man,"  where 
very  is  an  adverb  modifying  the  adjective  good. 

4.  Function. — It  follows  that,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
language,  when  we  cannot  know  to  what  class  a  word  belongs 
by  its  look,  we  must  settle  the  matter  by  asking  ourselves  what 
is  its  fanction.  We  need  not  inquire  what  a  word  is  ;  but  we 
must  ask  what  it  does.  And  just  as  a  bar  of  iron  may  be  used 
as  a  lever,  or  as  a  crowbar,  or  as  a  poker,  or  as  a  hammer,  or  as 


WORDS   KNOWN   BY  THEIR   FUNCTIONS.  .63 

ft  weapon,  so  a  word  may  be  an  adjective,  or  a  noun,  or  a  verb, 
' — ^just  as  it  is  used. 

5.  Examples. — When  we  say,  "He  gave  a  shilling  for  the 
"book,"  for  is  a  preposition  connecting  the  noun  hook  with  the 
verb  gave.  But  when  we  say,  "  Let  us  assist  them,  for  our  case 
is  theirs,"  the  word /or  joins  two  sentences  together,  and  is  hence 
a  conjunction.  In  the  same  way,  we  can  contrast  early  in  the 
proverb,  "The  early  bird  catches  the  worm,"  and  in  the  sentence 
"  He  rose  early."  Hard  in  the  sentence  "  He  works  hard  "  is  an 
adverb;  in  the  phrase  "A  hard  stone"  it  is  an  adjective.  Riglit 
is  an  adverb  in  the  phrase  "  Eight  reverend ; "  but  an  adjective 
in  the  sentence  "  That  is  not  the  right  road."  Back  is  an  adverb 
in  the  sentence  "  He  came  back  yesterday  ; "  but  a  noun  in  the 
sentence  "  He  fell  on  his  back."  Here  \s>  an  adverb,  and  where 
an  adverbial  conjunction ;  but  in  the  line — 

"  Thou  losest  here,  a  better  where  to  find," 

Shakespeare  employs  these  words  as  nouns.  Tlie^  in  ninety-nine 
cases  out  of  a  hundred,  is  an  adjective ;  but  in  such  phrases  as 
"  The  more,  the  merrier,"  it  is  an  adverb,  modifying  merrier  and 
more.  Indeed,  some  words  seem  to  exercise  two  functions  at 
the  same  time.     Thus  Tennyson  has — 

"  Slow  and  sure  comes  up  the  golden  year," — 

where  slow  and  sure  may  either  be  adverbs  modifying  comes,  or 
adjectives  marking  year;  or  both.  This  is  also  the  case  with 
the  participle,  which  is  both  an  adjective  and  a  verb ;  and  with 
the  gerund,  which  is  both  a  verb  and  a  noun. 

6.  Function  or  Form? — From  all 'this  it  appears  that  we  are 
not  merely  to  look  at  the  form  of  the  word,  we  are  not  merely 
to  notice  and  ohserve ;  but  we  must  think — we  must  ask  our- 
selves what  the  word  does,  what  is  its  function  ?  In  other 
words,  we  must  always — when  trying  to  settle  the  class  to  which 
a  word  belongs — ask  ourselves  two  questions — 

(i)  "What  other  word  does  it  go  with  1  and 
(ii)  AVhat  does  it  do  to  that  word  ] 


SYNTAX. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

1.  The  word  Syntax  is  a  Greek  word  which  means  arrange- 
ment. Syntax,  in  grammar,  is  that  part  of  it  which  treats  of 
tlie  relations  of  words  to  each  other  in  a  sentence. 

2.  Syntax  is  usually  divided  into  two  parts,  which  are  called 
Concord  and  Grovernment. 

(i)  Concord  means  agreement.  The  chief  concords  in  gi'ammar  are 
those  of  the  Verb  with  its  Subject ;  one  Noun  with  another  Noun  ; 
the  Pronoun  with  the  Noun  it  stands  for ;  the  Relative  with  its 
Antecedent. 

(ii)  Government  means  the  influence  that  one  word  has  upon  another. 
The  chief  kinds  of  Government  are  those  of  a  Transitive  Verb  and 
a  Noun ;  a  Preposition  and  a  Noun. 


L— SYNTAX    OF    THE    ISTGUK 
1.— THE  NOMINATIVE   CASE. 

Rule  L — The  Subject  of  a  sentence  is  in  the  Nominative 
Case. 

Thus  we  say,  I  write  ;  John  writes  :  and  both  /  and  John — the  sub- 
jects in  these  two  sentences — are  in  the  nominative  case. 

Rule  IT. — When  one  noun  is  used  to  explain  or  describe 
another,  the  two  nouns  are  said  to  be  in  Apposition;  and  they 
are  always  in  the  same  case. 


SYNTAX   OF   THE   NOUN.  65 

Thus  we  find  in  Shakespeare's  Henry  Y.,  i.  2.  188  : — 

"  So  work  the  honey-bees, 
Creatures  tliat  by  a  rule  in  Nature  teach 
The  art  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 

Here  bees  is  the  nominative  to  work  ;  creatures  is  in  apposition  with 
bees,  and  hence  is  also  in  the  nominative  case.  (Of  course,  two  nouns 
in  apposition  may  be  in  the  objective  case,  as  in  the  sentence,  "  We  met 
John  the  gardener.") 

(i)  The  words  in  apposition  may  be  separated  from  each  other,  as  in 
Cowper's  well-known  line  about  the  postman  : — - 

"  He  comes,  the  herald  of  a  noisy  world. " 

EuLE  III. — The  verb  to  be,  and  other  verbs  of  a  like  nature, 
take  two  nominatives — one  before  and  the  other  after. 

Thus  we  find  such  sentences  as — • 

(i)  General  Wolseley  is  an  able  soldier. 

(ii)  The  long-remembered  beggar  was  his  guest. 

In  the  first  sentence  Wolseley  and  soldier  refer  to  the  same  person  ; 
beggar  and  guest  refer  to  the  same  person  ;  and  all  that  the  verbs  is 
and  was  do  is  to  connect  them.  They  have  no  influence  whatever  upon 
either  word.     When  is  (or  are)  is  so  used,  it  is  called  the  copula. 


Rule  IY. — The  verbs  become,  be-ealled,  be-named,  live, 
turn-out,  prove,  remain,  seem,  look,  and  others,  are  of  an 
appositional  character,  and  taj^e  a  nominative  case  after  them 
as  well  as  before  them. 

Thus  we  find  : — 

(i)  Tom  became  an  architect. 

(ii)  The  boy  is  called  John. 

(iii)  He  turned  out  a  dull  fellow. 

(iv)  She  moves  a  goddess  ;  and  she  looks  a  queen. 

On  examining  the  verbs  in  these  sentences,  it  will  be  seen  that  they 
do  not  and  cannot  govern  the  noun  that  follows  them.  The  noun  be- 
fore and  the  noun  after  designate  the  same  person. 

Rule  Y, — A  Noun  and  an  Adjective,  or  a  Noun  and  a  Par- 
ticiple, or  a  Noiin  and  an  Adjective  Phrase, — not  syntactically 

£ 


66  GRAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGK 

connected  with  any  other  word  in  the  sentence, — are  put  in  the 
Nominative  Absolute. 

Thus  we  have  : — 

(i)  "  She  earns  a  scanty  pittance,  and  at  night 

Lies  doA\'n  secure,  her  heart  and  pocket  light." — Cowper. 

(ii)  The  wind  shifting,  we  sailed  slowly. 

(iii)  "Next  Anger  rushed,  his  eyes  on  fire." — Collins. 

(iv)  Dinner  over,  we  went  up-stairs. 

The  •word  absolutus  means  freed ;  and  the  absolute  case  has  been  freed  fronij  ^ 
and'is  independent  of,  the  construction  of  the  sentence. 

Eemarks. — 1.  In  the  oldest  English  (or  Anglo-Saxon),  the 
absokite  case  was  the  Dative ;  and  this  we  find  even  as  late  as 
Milton  (1608-1674),  who  says— 

"Him  destroyed, 

All  else  will  follow." 

2.  Caution!  In  the  sentence,  "Pompey,  having  been  de- 
feated, fled  to  Africa,"  the  phrase  having  been  defeated  is  at- 
kJMitive  to  Pompey,  which  is  the  noun  to  fled.  But,  in  the 
sentence,  "  Pompey  having  been  defeated,  his  army  broke  up," 
Pompey — not  being  the  noun  to  any  verb— is  in  the  nomina- 
tive absolute.  Hence,  if  a  noun  is  the  nominative  to  a  verb, 
it  cannot  be  in  the  nominative  absolute. 

Remarks  on  Exceptions. 

1.  The  pronoun  It  is  often  used  as  a  Preparatory  Nomina- 
tive, or — as  it  may  also  be  called — a  Representative  Subject. 
Thus  we  say,  "It  is  very  hard  to  climb  that  hill,"  where  it 
stands  for  the  true  nominative,  to-climb-that-hill. 

2.  The  nominative  to  a  verb  in  the  Imperative  Mood  is 
usually  omitted.     Thus  Come  along !  =  Come  thou  (or  ye)  along  I 


SYNTAX  OF  THE   NOUN.  67 


2.— THE  POSSESSIVE   CASE. 

Rule  VI. — When  one  Noun  stands  in  the  relation  of  an 
attribute  to  another  Noun,  the  first  of  these  nouns  is  put  in 
the  Possessive  Case. 

(i)  The  Possessive  Case  originally  denoted  mere  possession,  as  John's 
book  ;  John's  gun.  But  it  has  gradually  gained  a  wider  reference  ;  and 
we  can  say,  "The  Duke  of  Portland's  funeral,"  etc. 

(ii)  The  objective  case  with  of  is  =  the  possessive  ;  and  we  can  say, 
"The  might  of  England,"  instead  of  "England's  might." 


Rule  YII. — When  (i)  two  or  more  Possessives  are  in  apposi- 
tion, or  (ii)  when  several  nouns  connected  by  and  are  in  the 
possessive  case,  the  sign  of  the  possessive  is  affixed  to  the 
last  only. 

(i)  Thus  we  find  :  (i)  For  thy  servant  David's  sake,  (ii)  Messrs  Simp- 
kin  &  Marshall's  house. 

8^  The  fact  is,  that  Messrs  Siinpkin-(£;- Marshall,  and  other  such  phrases, 
are  regarded  as  one  compound  phrase. 

(ii)  The  sentence,  "This  is  a  picture  of  Turner's,"  is  =  " This  is  a 
picture  (one)  of  Turner's  pictures."  The  o/ governs,  not  Turner's,  but 
pictures.     Hence  it  is  not  a  double  possessive,  though  it  looks  like  it. 

The  phrase,  "a  friend  of  mine,"  contains  the  same  idiom  ;  only  mine  is  used 
in  place  of  my,  because  the  word  friend  has  been  suppressed. 


3.— THE   OBJECTIVE   CASE. 

1.  The  Objective  Case  is  that  case  of  a  noun  or  pronoun 
that  is  "  governed  by  "  a  transitive  verb  or  by  a  preposition. 

S^  It  is  only  the  pronoun  that  has  a  special  form  for  this  case. 
The  English  noun  formerly  had  it,  but  lost  it  between  the  years  1066 
and  1300. 


68  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

2.  The  Objective  Case  is  the  case  of  the  Direct  Object; 
the  Dative  Case  is  the  case  of  the  Indirect  Object — and 
something  more. 

(i)  The  Direct  Object  answers  to  the  question  Whom  ?  or  What  ? 

(ii)  The  Indirect  Object  answers  to  the  question  To  whom  ?  To  what  ? 
or  For  whom  ?  For  what  ? 

3.  The  object  of  an  active-transitive  verb  must  always  be  a 
Woun  or  the  Equivalent  of  a  Noun. 


Rule  VIII. — The  Direct  Object  of  an  Active -Transitive 
Verb  is  put  in  the  Objective  Case. 

Thus  we  read :  (i)  We  met  the  man  (Noun),  (ii)  We  met  him 
(Pronoun),  (iii)  We  saw  the  fighting  (Verbal  Noun),  (iv)  I  like  to 
work  (Infinitive),     (v)  I  heard  that  he  had  left  (Noun  clause). 


N^    EuLE  IX. — Verbs  of  teaching,  asking,  making,  appoint- 
ing, etc.,  take  t"wo  objects. 

Thus  we  say :  (i)  He  teaches  me  grammar,  (ii)  He  asked  me  a 
question,  (iii)  They  made  him  manager,  (iv)  The  Queen  appointed 
him  Treasurer. 

BM'  In  the  last  two  instances  the  objects  are  sometimes  called  factitive 
objects. 


EuLE  X. — Some  Intransitive  Verbs  take  an  objective  case 
after  them,  if  the  objective  has  a  similar  or  cognate  meaning 
to  that  of  the  verb  itself. 

Thus  we  find  :  (i)  To  die  the  death,  (ii)  To  sleep  a  sleep,  (iii)  To 
go  one's  way.  To  wend  one's  way.  (iv)  To  run  a  race,  (v)  Dreaming 
dreams  no  mortal  ever  dared  to  dream  before. 

g^  Such  objects  are  called  cognate  objects. 


EuLE  XI. — The  limitations  of  a  Verb  by  words  or  phrases 
expressing  space,  time,  measure,  etc.,   are  said  to  be  in  the 


SYNTAX   OF   THE   NOUN.  69 

objective  case ;  as  (i)  he  walked  three  miles ;  (ii)  he  travelled 
all  nigh-t ;  (iii)  the  stone  weighed  three  pounds. 

j8®"  1.  Because  these  words  limit  or  modify  the  verbs  to  which  they 
are  attached,  they  are  sometimes  called  Adverbial  Objectives. 

2.  The  following  phrases  are  adverbial  objectives  of  the  same  kind  : 
(i)  They  bound  him  hand  and  foot,  (ii)  They  fell  upon  him  tooth  and 
nail.  (iii)  They  turned  out  the  Turks,  bag  and  baggage.  Such 
phrases  are  rightly  called  adverbial,  because  they  modify  hound,  fell. 
aud  turned ;  and  show  how  he  was  bound,  how  they  fell  upon  him,  etc. 


Eemarks  on  Exceptions. 

1.  The  same  verb  may  be  either  Intransitive  or  Transitive, 
according  to  its  use.     Thus — 

Intransitive.  •  Transitive. 

(i)  The  soldier  ran  away.  (i)  The  soldier  ran  his  spear  into 

the  Arab, 
(ii)  The  man  works  very  hard.  (ii)  The  master  works  his  men  too 

hard, 
(iii)  We  walked  up  the  hill.  (iii)  The  groom  walked  the  horse 

up  the  hill. 

2.  An  Intransitive  verb  performs  the  function  of  a  Transi- 
tive verb  when  a  preposition  is  added  to  it.      Thus — 

Intransitive.  Transitive. 

(i)  The  children  laughed.  (i)  The  children  laughed  at  the  clown, 

(ii)  The  man  spoke.  (ii)  The  man  spoke  of  wild  beasts. 

3.  The  preposition  may  continue  to   adhere  to  such  a  verb, 
so  that  it  remains  even  when  the  verb  has  been  made  passive. 

Thus  we  can  say  :  (i)  He  was  laughed-at.  (ii)  Whales  were  spoken-of, 
(iii)  Prosecution  was  hinted-at.  And  this  is  an  enormous  convenience 
in  the  use  of  the  English  language. 


4.— THE    DATIVE    CASE. 

1.  The  Dative  is  the  case  of  the  Indirect  Object. 

Thus  we  say  :  He  handed  her  a  chair.     She  gave  it  me. 

2.  The    Dative    is    also    the    case    which    is    used    with 


70  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

such  verbs  as  be,  worth,  seem,  please,  think  ( =  seem) ;  and 
with  the  adjectives  like  and  near. 

Thus  we  have  the  phrases,  meseems  ;  if  you  please  (  =  if  it  please 
you);  methought  (  =  it  seemed  to  me)  ;  woe  is  me!  and,  she  is  like 
him ;  he  was  near  us. 

"  Woe  worth  the  chase !  woe  worth  the  day 
.  That  cost  thy  life,  my  gallant  grey  !  " 

—"  Lady  of  the  Lake." 

"  When  in  Salamanca's  cave 
Him  Hsted  his  magic  wand  to  wave, 

The  bells  would  ring  in  Notre-Dame." 

— "  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel." 

3.  N.B. — It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Dative  survives  ety- 
mologically  (as  in  meadow  from  A.S.  mmd-we^  dative  of  mcedu, 
or  as  in  ivliilom  and  seldom,  where  the  om  represents  a  dative 
case-ending  in  um,  etc.)  but  not  grammatically,  so  far  as 
the  present  form  of  the  case  is  concerned. 

Rule  XII. — Verbs  of  giving,  promising,  telling,  showing, 
etc.,  take  two  objects  ;  and  the  indireet  object  is  put  in  the 
dative  case. 

Thus  we  say :  He  gave  her  a  fan.  She  promised  me  a  book.  Tell  us 
a  story.     Show  me  the  picture-book. 

Rule  XIII. — When  such  verbs  are  turned  into  the  passive 
voice,  either  the  Direct  or  the  Indirect  Object  may  be  turned 
into  the  Subject  of  the  Passive  Verb.  Thus  we  can  say 
either — 

Direct  Object  used  as  Subject.  Indirect  Object  used  as  Subject. 

(i)  A  fan  was  given  her.  (i)  She  was  given  a  fan.^ 

(ii)  A  book  was  promised  me.  (ii)  I  was  promised  a  book.^ 

(iii)  A  story  was  told  us.  (iii)  We  were  told  a  story.  ^ 

(iv)  The  picture-book  was  shown  (iv)  I  v.as  sho\\Ti  the  picture-book.* 
me. 

*  This  has  sometimes  been  called  the  Retained  Object.     The  words 

fan,  etc.,  are  in  the  objective  case,  not  because  they  are  governed  by  the 

passive  verbs  was  given,  etc.,  but  because  they  still  retain,  in  a  latent 

\j      form,  the  influence  or  government  exercised  upon  them  by  the  active 

verbs,  give,  promise,  etc. 


SYNTAX   OF  THE  ADJECTIVE.  71 


Eemarks  on  Exceptions. 

1.  The  Dative  of  the  Personal  Pronoun  was  in  frequent  use 
in  the  time  of  Shakespeare  to  add  a  certain  liveliness  and  in- 
terest to  the  statement. 

Thus  we  find,  in  several  of  his  plays,  such  sentences  as — 
(i)  "  He  plucked  me  ope  his  doublet." 

(ii)  "Villain,  I  say,  knock  me  at  this  gate,  and  rap  me  well." 

(iii)  "  Your  tanner  will  last  you  nine  year." 
Grammarians  call  this  kind  of  dative  the  ethical  dative. 

2.  The  Dative  was  once  the  Absolute  Case. 

"They  have  stolen  away  the  body,  us  sleeping." 

— Wyclif's  Bihle. 


II.— SYNTAX    OF    THE    ADJECTIVE. 

1.  In  our  Old  English — the  English  spoken  before  the  coming 
of  the  Normans,  and  for  some  generations  after — every  adjec- 
tive agreed  with  its  noun  in  gender,  number,  and  case ;  and 
even  as  late  as  Chaucer  (1340-1400)  adjectives  had  a  form  for 
the  plural  number.  Thus  in  the  Prologue  to  the  '  Canterbury 
Tales,'  he  writes — 

"  And  smaU  fowles  maken  melodic," 

where  e  is  the  plural  inflexion. 

2.  In  course  of  time,  partly  under  the  influence  of  the  Nor- 
mans and  the  Norman  language,  all  these  inflexions  dropped 
off;  and  there  are  now  only  two  adjectives  in  the  whole  lan- 
guage that  have  any  inflexions  at  all  (except  for  comparison), 
and  these  inflexions  are  only  for  the  plural  number.  The  two 
adjectives  that  are  inflected  are  the  demonstrative  adjectives 
this  and  that,  which  make  their  plurals  in  these  (formerly  thise) 
and  those. 

(i)  The,  which  is  a  broken-down  form  of  that,  never  changes  at  aU. 

(ii)  When  an  adjective  is  used  as  a  noun,  it  may  take  a  plural  inflec- 
tion ;  as  the  blacks,  goods,  equals,  edibles,  annuals,  monthlies,  weeklies,  etc. 

3.  Most  adjectives  are  inflected  for  comparison. 


72  GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

4.  Every  adjective  is  either  an  explicit  or  an  implicit  predi* 
cate.     The  following  are  examples  : — ■ 

Adjectives  used  as  Explicit  Predicates. 

1.  The  way  was  long ;  the  wind  was  cold. 

2.  The  minstrel  was  infinn  and  old. 

3.  The  duke  is  very  rich. 

Adjectives  used  as  Implicit  Predicates. 

1.  "We  had  before  us  a  long  way  and  a  cold  wind. 

2.  The  infirm  old  minstrel  went  wearily  on. 

3.  The  rich  duke  is  very  niggardly. 

5.  When  an  adjective  is  used  as  an  explicit  predicate,  it  is 
said  to  be.  used  predicatively ;  when  it  is  used  as  an  implicit 
predicate,  it  is  said  to  be  used  attributively. 

Adjectives  used  predicatively. 

1.  The  cherries  are  ripe. 

2.  The  man  we  met  was  very  old. 

Adjectives  used  attributively. 

1.  Let  us  pluck  only  the  ripe  cherries. 

2.  We  met  an  old  man. 

Rule  XIY. — An  adjective  may  qualify  a  noun  or  pronoun 
predicatively,  not  only  after  the  verb  be,  but  after  such  in- 
transitive verbs  as  look,  seem,  feel,  taste,  etc. 

Thus  we  find  :  (i)  She  looked  angry,  (ii)  He  seemed  "weary,  (iii)  He 
felt  better,     (iv)  It  tasted  sour,     (v)  He  fell  ill. 

Rule  XV. — After  verbs  of  m.aking,  thinking,  considering, 
etc.,  an  adjective  may  be  used  factitively  as  well  as  predica- 
tively. 

Thus  we  can  say,  (i)  "We  made  all  the  young  ones  happy,     (ii)  All 
present  thought  him  odd.     (iii)  We  considered  him  very  clever. 
Factitive  comes  from  the  Latin /acio,  I  make. 

EuLE  XVI. — An  adjective  may,  especially  in  poetry,  be  used 
as  an  abstract  noun. 

Thus  we  speak  of  "the  True,  the  Good,  and  the  Beautiful;"  "the 
sublime  and  the  ridiculous  ;  "  Mrs  Browning  has  the  phrase,  "  from  the 
depths  of  God's  divine  ; "  and  Longfellow  speaks  of 

"A  band 
Of  stem  in  heart  and  strong  in  hand." 


SYNTAX   OF   THE  ADJECTIVE.  73 

Rule  XYII. — An  adjective  may  be  used  as  an  adverb  in 
poetry. 

Thus  we  find  in  Dr  Johnson  the  line— 

"  Slow  rises  worth,  by  poverty  depressed  ;  " 

and  in  Scott — 

"  Trip  it  deft  and  merrily ; " 

and  in  Longfellow — 

"  The  green  trees  whispered  low  and  mild ;  " 

and  in  Tennyson — 

"  And  slow  and  sure  comes  up  the  golden  year." 

(i)  The  reason  for  this  is  that  in  O.  E.  adverbs  were  formed  from  adjectives  by 
adding  e.  Thus  brighte  was-brightly,  and  deej>e=deeply.  But  in  course  of 
time  the  e  fell  off,  and  an  adverb  was  just  like  its  own  adjective.  Hence  we  still 
have  the  phrases  :  "  He  works  hard ; "  "Run  quick!"  "  Speak  louder  1  "  "Run 
fasti"  "Right  reverend,"  etc. 

(ii)  Shakespeare  very  frequently  uses  adjectives  as  adverbs,  and  has  such  sen- 
tences as  :  "  Thou  didst  it  excellent  1 "  '"Tis  noble  spoken  !"  and  many  more. 

EuLE  XYIII. — A  participle  is  a  pure  adjective,  and  agrees 
with  its  noun. 

Thus,  in  Pope — 

*'  How  happy  is  the  blameless  vestal's  lot, 
The  world  forgetting,  by  the  world  forgot ! " 

where  forgetting,  the  present  active  participle,  and  forgot,  the  past 
passive  participle,  both  agree  with  vestal  ("  the  vestal's  lot "  heing  =  the 
lot  of  the  vestal). 

(i)  But  while  a  participle  is  a  pure  adjective,  it  also  retains  one  function  of  a 
verb — the  power  to  govern.  Thus  in  the  sentence,  "  Respecting  ourselves,  we 
shall  be  respected  by  tlie  world,"  the  present  participle  respecting  agrees  with 
we,  and  governs  our""lves. 

EuLE  XIX. — The  comparative  degree  is  employed  when 
two  things  or  two  sets  of  things  are  compared ;  the  superla- 
tive when  three  or  more  are  compared. 

Thus  we  say  "  James  is  taller  than  I ;  but  Tom  is  the  tallest  of  the 
three." 

(i)  Than  is  a  dialectic  form  of  then.     "James  is  taller  ;  then  I  (come)." 

(ii)  The  superlative  is  sometimes  used  to  indicate  superiority  to  all  others. 
Thus  Shakespeare  says,  "  A  little  ere  the  mightiest  Julius  fell ;  "  and  we  use  such 
phrases  as,  "  Truest  friend  and  noblest  foe."  This  is  sometimes  called  the 
"  superlative  of  pre-eminence." 

(iii)  Double  comparatives  and  superlatives  were  much  used  in  O.E.,  and 
Shakespeare  was  especially  fond  of  them.  He  gives  us  such  phrases  as,  "a 
more  larger  list  of  sceptres,"  "more  better,"  "more  nearer,"  "most  worst," 
"most  unkindest  cut  of  all,"  etc.    These  cannot  be  employed  now. 


74  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

EuLE  XX. — The  distributive  adjectives  eachj  every,  either^ 
neither,  go  with  singular  nouns  only. 

Thus  we  say  :  (i)  Each  boy  got  an  apple,     (ii)  Every  noun  is  in  its 
place,     (iii)  Either  book  will  do.     (iv)  Neither  woman  went. 

Either  and  neither  are  dialectic  forms  of  other  and  nother,  which 
were  afterwards  compressed  into  or  and  nor. 


III.— SYNTAX   OF   THE   PEOl^OUK 

EuLE  XXI. — Pronouns,  whether  personal  or  relative,  must 
agree  in  gender,  number,  and  person  with  the  nouns  for 
which  they  stand,  but  not  (necessarily)  in  case. 

Thus  we  say :   "I  have  lost  my  umbrella  :  it  was  standing  in  the 
corner." 

(i)  Here  it  is  neuter,  singnlar,  and  third  person,  because  umbrella  is  neuter, 
singular,  and  third  person. 

(ii)  Umbrella  is  in  the  objective  case  governed  by  have  lost ;  but  it  is  in  the 
nominat.ve,  because  it  is  the  subject  to  its  own  verb  was  standing. 


EuLE  XXII. — Pronouns,  whether  personal  or  relative,  take 
their  case  from  the  sentence  in  which  they  stand. 

Thus  we  say  :  "The  sailor  lohom  we  met  on  the  beach  is  ill."     Here 
sailor  is  in  the  nominative,  and  whom,  its  pronoun,  in  the  objective. 

(i)  Whom  is  in  the  objective,  because  it  is  governed  by  the  verb  met  in  its 
own  sentence.  "The  sailor  is  ill"  is  one  sentence.  "Him  (whom  =  and  him) 
we  met"  is  a  second  sentence. 

(ii)  The  relative  may  be  governed  by  a  preposition,  as  "  The  man  on  whom  I 
relied  has  not  disappointed  me." 


EuLE  XXTIL — Who,  whom,  and  whose  are  used  only  of 
rational  beings ;  which  of  irrational ;  that  may  stand  for 
nouns  of  any  kind. 

(i)    Whose  may  be  used  for  of  ivhich.      Thus  Wordsworth,  in  the 
*Laodamia,'  has — 

"  In  worlds  whose  course  is  equable  and  pure." 


SYNTAX   OF  THE  PRONOUN.  75 

Rule  XXIV. — The  possessive  pronouns  mine,  thine,  ours, 
yours,  and  theirs  can  only  be  used  predicatively ;  or,  if  used 
as  a  subject,  cannot  have  a  noun  with  them. 

Thus  we  say:  "This  is  mine."  "Mine  is  larger  than  yours."  But 
in  older  English  mine  and  thine  are  used  for  my  and  thy  before  a  noun  : 
"  Who  knoweth  the  power  of  thine  anger  ? " 


Rule  XX Y. — After  such,  same,  so  much,  so  great,  etc.. 
the  relative  employed  is  not  who,  but  as. 

Thus  Milton  has — 

**  Tears  such  as  angels  weep." 

(i)  Shakespeare  uses  as  even  after  that — 

"  That  gentleness  as  I  was  wont  to  have." 

This  usage  cannot  now  be  employed. 


Remarks  on  Exceptions. 

1.  The  antecedent  to  the  relative  may  be  omitted. 

Thus  we  find,  in  Wordsworth's  "  Ode  to  Duty  "— 

"  There  are  A  who  ask  not  if  thine  eye 
Be  on  them." 

And  Shakespeare,  in  "  Othello,"  iii.  3,  157,  has— 

**  A  Who  steals  my  purse,  steals  trash." 

And  we  have  the  well-known  Greek  proverb — 

"  A  Whom  the  gods  love,  die  young." 

2.  The  relative  itself  may  be  omitted. 

(i)  Thus  Shelley  has  the  line — 

"Men  must  reap  the  things  A  they  sow." 

(ii)  And  such  phrases  as,  "Is  this  the  book  A  you  wanted  ? "  are  very 
common. 


76  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

3.  The  word  but  is  often  used  for  who  +  not.     It  may  hence 
be  called  the  negative-relative. 

Thus  Scott  has — 

*'  There  breathes  not  clansman  of  my  line 
But  ( —  who  not)  would  have  given  his  life  for  mine." 

4.  The  personal  pronouns,  when  in  the  dative  or  objective 
case,  are  generally  without  emphasis. 

(i)  K  we  say  "  Give  me  your  hand,"  the  me  is  unemphatic.  If  we  say 
"  Give  me  your  hand  ! "  the  me  has  a  stronger  emphasis  than  the  give, 
and  means  me,  and  not  any  other  person. 

(ii)  Very  ludicrous  accidents  sometimes  occur  from  the  misplacing  of 
the  accent.  Thus  a  careless  reader  once  read  :  "  And  he  said,  '  Saddle 
me  the  ass;'  and  they  saddled  him."  Nelson's  famous  signal,  "Eng- 
land expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty,"  was  once  altered  in  em- 
phasis with  excellent  effect.  A  midshipman  on  board  one  of  H.M.'s 
ships  was  very  lazy,  and  inclined  to  allow  others  to  do  his  work  ;  and  the 
question  went  round  the  vessel :  "  \Miy  is  Mr  So-and-so  like  England  ? " 
*'  Because  he  expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty." 


iy._SYNTAX   OF  THE  VEEB. 

1.— CONCORD   OF   VERBS. 

We  cannot  say  /  writes,  or  He  or  The  man  write.  We  always  say  I  write, 
He  writes,  and  The  man  writes.  In  other  words,  certain  pronouns  and 
nouns  require  a  certain  form  of  a  verb  to  go  with  them.  If  the  pronoun 
is  of  the  first  person,  then  the  verb  will  have  a  certain  form  ;  if  it  is  of  the 
third  person,  it  will  have  a  different  form.  If  the  noun  or  pronoun  is  sing- 
ular, the  verb  will  have  one  form  ;  if  it  is  plural,  it  may  have  another  form. 
In  these  circumstances,  the  verb  is  said  to  agree  with  its  subject. 

All  these  facts  are  usually  embodied  in  a  general  statement,  which  may 
also  serve  as  a  rule. 

EuLE  XX YI. — A  Finite  Verb  must  agree  with  its  subject 
in  Number  and  Person.  Thus  we  say  :  "  He  calls,"  "  They 
walk." 

(i)  The  subject  answers  to  the  question  Who  ?  or  What  ? 
(ii)  The  subject  of  a  finite  verb  is  always  in  the  nominative  case. 


SYNTAX  OF   THE  VERB.  77 

Or  and  nor  are  conjunctions  which  do  not  add  the  things  mentioned 
to  each  other,  but  allow  the  mind  to  take  them  separately — the  one 
excluding  the  other.     We  may  therefore  say  : — 


Rule  XXVII. — Two  or  more  singular  nouns  that  are  subjects, 
connected  by  or  or  nor,  require  their  verb  to  be  in  the  singular. 
Thus  we  say  :  "  Either  Tom  or  John  is  going."  "  It  was  either 
a  roe-deer  or  a  large  goat !  " 

On  the  other  hand,  when  two  or  more  singular  nouns  are  connected 
by  and,  they  are  added  to  each  other ;  and,  just  as  one  and  one  make 
two,  so  two  singular  nouns  are  equal  to  one  plural.  We  may  therefore 
lay  down  the  following  rule  : — 


Rule  XXVIII. — Two  or  more  singular  nouns  that  are  sub- 
jects, connected  by  and,  require  their  verb  to  be  in  the  plural. 
We  say:  "Tom  and  John  are  going."  "There  were  a  roe- 
deer  and  a  goat  in  the  field." 

(i)  When  two  or  more  singular  nouns  represent  one  idea,  the  verb  is 
singular.     Thus,  in  Milton's  "  Lycidas,"  we  find — 

"  Bitter  constraint  and  sad  occasion  dear 
Compels  me  to  disturb  your  season  due." 

And,  in  Shakespeare's  "Tempest"  (v.  104),  we  read — 

"  All  torment,  trouble,  wonder,  and  amazement 
Inhabits  here." 

In  this  case  we  may  look  upon  the  statement  as  = "  A  condition  which 
embraces  all  torment,"  etc. 

(ii)  When  the  verb  precedes  a  number  of  different  nominatives,  it  is 
often  singular.  The  speaker  seems  not  to  have  yet  made  up  his  mind 
what  nominatives  he  is  going  to  use.  Thus,  in  the  well-known  passage 
in  Byron's  "  Childe  Harold  "  we  have — 

"  Ah  !  then  and  there  was  hurrying  to  and  fro, 
And  gathering  tears,  and  tremblings  of  distress. " 

And  so  Shakespeare,  in  "  Julius  Csesar,"  makes  Brutus  say,  "  There  is 
tears  for  his  love,  joy  for  his  fortune,  honour  for  his  valour,  and  death 
for  his  ambition."  And,  in  the  same  way,  people  say,  "  Where  is  my 
hat  and  stick  ? " 


78  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

Cautions. — (i)  The  compound  conjunction  as  well  as  does  not  require 
a  plural  verb,  because  it  allows  the  mind  to  take  each  subject  separately. 
Thus  we  say,  "Justice,  as  well  as  mercy,  allows  it."  We  can  see  the 
truth  of  this  remark  by  transposing  the  clauses  of  the  sentence,  and 
saying,  "Justice  allows  it,  as  well  as  mercy  [allows  it]." 

(ii)  The  preposition  with  cannot  make  two  singular  subjects  into  one 
plural.  We  must  say,  "The  Mayor,  with  his  attendants,  was  there." 
Transposition  will  show  the  force  of  this  remark  also  :  "  The  Mayor  was 
there  with  his  attendants." 


EuLE  XXIX. — Collective  Nouns  take  a  singular  verb  or 
a  plural  verb,  as  the  notion  of  unity  or  of  plurality  is  upper- 
most in  the  mind  of  the  speaker.  Thus  we  say  :  "  Parliament 
was  dissolved."     "  The  committee  are  divided  in  opinion." 

EuLE  XXX. — The  verb  to  be  is  often  attracted  into  the  same 
number  as  the  nominative  that  follows  it,  instead  of  agreeing 
with  the  nominative  that  is  its  true  subject.  Thus  we  find  : 
"The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  "To  love  and  to  admire  has 
been  the  joy  of  his  existence."  "A  high  look  and  a  proud 
heart  is  sin." 

2. —GOVERNMENT   OF  VERBS. 

EuLE  XXXI. — A  Transitive  Verb  in  the  active  voice 
governs  its  direct  object  in  the  objective  case.  Thus  we  say  : 
"  I  like  him ;  "  "  they  dislike  her." 

The  following  sub-rules  are  of  some  importance  : — 

(i)  The  participle,  which  is  an  adjective,  has  the  same  governing 
power  as  the  verb  of  w-hich  it  is  a  part — as,  "  Seeing  the  rain,  I  remained 
at  home  " — where  seeing  agrees  with  I  as  an  adjective,  and  governs 
rain  as  a  verb. 

(ii)  The  gerund,  which  is  a  noun,  has  the  same  governing  power  as 
the  verb  to  which  it  belongs.  Thus  we  say  :  "  Hating  one's  neighbour  is 
forbidden  by  the  Gospel,"  where  hating  is  a  noun,  the  nominative  to 
is  forbidden,  and  a  gerund  governing  neighbour  in  the  objective. 

EuLE  XXXII. — Active-transitive  Verbs  of  giving,  promis- 
ing, offering,  and  suchlike,  govern  the  Direct  Object  in  the 


SYNTAX   OF   THE   VERB.  79 

objective  case,  and  the  Indirect  Object  in  the  dative.      "  I 
gave  him  an  apple."      "  He  promises  me  a  book." 

(i)  In  turning  these  active  verbs  into  passive,  it  is  the  direct  object 
that  should  be  turned  into  the  subject  of  the  passive  verb  ;  and  we 
ought  to  say,  "An  apple  was  given  me."  But  custom  allows  of  either 
mode  of  change;  and  we  also  say,  "I  was  given  an  apple;"  "I  was 
promised  a  book."  Dr  Abbott  calls  the  objectives  apple  and  hook 
retained  objects,  because  they  are  retained  in  the  sentence,  even 
although  we  know  that  no  passive  verb  can  govern  an  objective  case. 

EuLE  XXXIII.  —  Such  verbs  as  m.ake,  create,  appoint, 
think,  believe,  etc.,  govern  two  objects — the  one  direct,  the 
other  factitive.  Thus  we  say  :  "  They  made  him  king  ; " 
"  the  king  appointed  him  governor ;  "  "  we  thought  her  a 
clever  woman." 

(i)  The  second  of  these  objectives  remains  with  the  passive  verb, 
when  the  form  of  the  sentence  has  been  changed  ;  and  we  say,  "  He 
was  made  king ; "  "he  was  appointed  governor." 

Rule  XXXIV. — One  verb  governs  another  in  the  Infinitive 
Or, 

The  Infinitive  Mood  of  a  verb,  being  a  pure  noun,  may  be 
the  object  of  another  verb,  if  that  verb  is  active-transitive. 
Thus  we  say  :  "  I  saw  him  go  ; "  "  we  saw  the  ship  sink." 

(i)  In  these  sentences,  him  and  ship  are  the  subjects  of  go  and  sink. 
But  the  subject  of  an  infinitive  is  always  in  the  objective  case.  The 
infinitives  go  and  sink  have  a  double  face.  They  are  verbs  in  relation 
to  their  subjects  him  and  go  ;  they  are  nouns  in  relation  to  the  verbs 
that  govern  them. 

(ii)  An  Infinitive  is  always  a  noun,  whether  it  be  a  subject  or  an 
object.  It  is  {a)  a  subject  in  the  sentence,  "  To  play  football  is  pleasant." 
It  is  (6)  an  object  in  the  sentence,  "  I  like  to  play  football." 

Rule  XXX Y. — Some  Intransitive  Verbs  govern  the  Dative 
Case.  Thus  we  have  ^' Methought,'^  ^' m.eseems,"  "Woe  ivorth 
the  day  !  "  "  Woe  is  me  !  "  "  If  you  please  !  " 

(i)  Worth  is  from  an  old  English  verb,  weorthan,  to  become.  (The 
German  form  of  this  verb  is  werden. ) 


80  GRAMMAR   OF   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.- 

(ii)  Shakespeare  even  construes  the  verb  look  with  a  dative.      In 
"Cymbeline,"  iii.  5,  32,  he  has — 

She  looks  us  like 
A  thing  more  made  of  malice,  than  of  duty. 


3.— MOODS  OF  VERBS. 

1.  The  Indicative  Mood  is  the  mood  of  direct  assertion  or  statement. 
The  Subjunctive  Mood  is  the  mood  of  assertion  also,  but  with  a  modi- 
fication given  to  the  assertion  by  the  mind  through  which  it  passes.  If 
we  use  the  term  dhjective  as  describing  what  actually  exists  independently 
of  our  minds,  and  subjective  as  describing  that  which  exists  in  the  mind 
of  the  speaker, — whether  it  really  exists  outside  or  not, — we  can  then 
say  that — 

(i)  The  Indicative  Mood  is  the  mood  of  objective  assertion, 
(ii)  The  Subjunctive  Mood  is  the  mood  of  subjective  assertion. 

The  Indicative  Mood  may  be   compared  to  a  ray  of  light  coming   straight 
through  the  air;  the  Subjunctive  Mood  to  the  effect  produced  by  the  water  on 
the  same  ray — the  water  deflects  it,  makes  it  form  a  quite  different  angle,  and 
'  hence  a  stick  in  the  water  looks  broken  or  crooked, 

2.  The  Imperative  Mood  is  the  mood  of  command  or  of  request. 

3.  The  Infinitive  Mood  is  the  substantive  mood  or  noun  of  the 
■rerb.  It  is  always  equal  to  a  noun ;  it  is  always  either  a  subject  or  an 
object ;  and  hence  it  is  incapable  of  making  any  assertion. 

4.  The  Subjunctive  Mood  has  for  some  years  been  gradually  dying 
out  Few  writers,  and  still  fewer  speakers,  use  it.  Good  wTiters  are 
even  found  to  say,  "  If  he  was  here,  I  should  tell  him."  But  a  know- 
ledge of  the  uses  of  the  subjunctive  mood  is  necessary  to  enable  us  to 
understand  English  prose  and  verse  anterior  to  the  present  generation. 
Even  so  late  as  the  year  1817,  Jane  Austen,  one  of  the  best  prose- writers 
of  last  century,  used  the  subjunctive  mood  in  almost  every  dependent 
clause.  Not  only  does  she  use  it  after  if  and  though,  but  after  such  con- 
junctions as  till,  until,  because,  and  others. 

Rule  XXXYI. — The  Subjunctive  Mood  was  used — and 
ought  to  be  used — to  express  doubt,  possibility,  supposition, 
consequence  (which  may  or  may  not  happen),  or  -wish,  all  as 
moods  of  the  mind  of  the  speaker. 


SYNTAX   OF  THE   VERB.  81 

(i)  "  If  thou  read  this,  0  Csesar,  thou  mayst  live."     (Doubt.) 

(ii)  "  If  he  come,  I  will  speak  to  him."     (Possibility.) 

(iii)  "  Yet  if  one  heart  throb  higher  at  its  sway, 

The  wizard  note  has  not  been  touched  in  vain."     (Supposition.) 

(iv)  "  Get  on  your  night-gown,  lest  occasion  call  us 

And  show  us  to  be  watchers."     (Consequence.) 

(v)  "  I  would  my  daughter  were  dead  at  my  foot,  and  the  jewels  in  her 
ear!"     (Wish.) 

S^  In  all  of  the  above  sentences,  the  clauses  with  subjunctives  state  feelings  or 
notions  of  what  may  or  might  be. 

E.ULE  XXXVII. — The  Subjunctive  Mood,  being  a  subjoined 
mood,  is  usually  dependent  on  some  other  clause  antecedent 
in  thought,  and  generally  also  in  expression.  The  antecedent 
clause,  which  contains  the  condition,  is  called  the  conditional 
clause ;  and  the  clause  which  contains  the  consequence  of  the 
supjDOsition  is  called  the  consequent  clause. 

(i)  If  it  were  so,  it  was  a  grievous  fault. 
Condition.  Consequence. 

(ii)  If  it  were  done  when  'tis  done, 

Condition. 

Then  'twere  well  it  were  done  quickly. 

Consequence. 

Eemarks  on  Exceptions. 

1.  Sometimes  the  conditional  clause  is  suppressed.  Thus  we 
can  say,  "  I  would  not  endure  such  language "  [if  it  were  ad- 
dressed to  me  =  conditional  clause]. 

2.  The  conjunction  is  often  omitted.  Thus,  in  Shakespeare's 
play  of  "  Julius  Caesar,"  we  find — 

"  Were  I  Brutus, 
And  Brutus  Antony,  there  were  an  Antony 
Would  ruffle  up  your  spirits." 

EuLE  XXXYIII. — The  Simple  Infinitive — without  the  sign 
to — is  used  with  auxiliary  verbs,  such  as  may,  do,  shall,  -will, 
etc.  ;  and  with  such  verbs  as  let,  bid,  can,  must,  see,  hear, 
make,  feel,  observe,  have,  know,  etc. 

F 


82  GRAMMAR    OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

(i)  Let  darkness  keep  her  raven  gloss. 

(ii)  Bid  the  porter  come. 
(iii)  I  saw  him  run  after  a  gilded  butterfly, 
(iv)  "We  heard  him  cry. 

(v)  They  made  him  go,  etc.,  etc. 


EuLE  XXXIX. — The  Gerund  is  both  a  noun  and  a  verb. 
As  a  noun,  it  is  governed  by  a  verb  or  preposition  ;  as  a 
verb,   it  governs  other  nouns  or  pronouns. 

There  are  two  gerunds — (i)  one  with  to ;  and  (ii)  one  that 
ends  in  ing. 

(i)  The  first  is  to  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  ordinary  in- 
finitive. Xow  the  ordinary  infinitive  never  expresses  a  purpose ;  the 
gerund  with  to  may  do  so.     Thus  we  find — 

"And  fools  who  came  to  scoff  remained  to  pray." 

This  gerund  is  often  called  the  genindial  infinitive. 

(ii)  The  second  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  present  participle  in 
ing,  and  ver}^  carefully  from  the  abstract  noun  of  the  same  form.  The 
present  participle  in  ing,  as  loving,  hating,  loalking,  etc..  is  always  an 
adjective,  agreeing  with  a  noun  or  pronoun.  The  gerund  in  ing  is 
always  a  noun,  and  governs  an  object.  "  He  was  very  fond  of  plajnng 
cricket."  Here  playing  is  a  noun  in  relation  to  of;  and  a  verb  govern- 
ing cricket  in  tlie  objective.  In  the  words  loallcing-sticTc,  frying-pan,  etc., 
walking  and  frying  are  nouns,  and  therefore  gerunds.  If  they  were  ad- 
jectives and  participles,  the  compounds  would  mean  the  stick  that  walks, 
the  'pan  that  fries. 

(iii)  The  gerund  in  ing  must  also  be  distinguished  from  the  verbal 
noun  in  ing,  which  is  a  descendant  of  the  verbal  noun  in  ung.  "  He 
went  a  hunting"  (where  a  =  the  old  an  or  on)  ;  "Forty  and  six  years 
was  this  temple  in  building  ;  "  "  He  was  very  impatient  during  the 
reading  of  the  will."  In  these  sentences  hunting,  building,  and  read- 
ing are  all  verbal  nouns,  derived  from  the  old  verbal  noun  in  ung,  and 
are  called  abstract  nouns.  But  if  we  say,  "  He  is  fond  of  hunting  deer;  " 
"He  is  engaged  in  building  a  hotel;"  "He  likes  reading  poetry," — then 
the  three  words  are  gerunds,  for  they  act  as  verbs,  and  govern  the  three 
objectives,  deer,  hotel,  siad  poetry. 

Rule  XL. — The  Gerundial  Infinitive  is  frequently  con- 
strued with  nouns  and  adjectives.     Thus  we  say  :   "  A  house 


SYNTAX   OF   THE   ADVERB — AND   PKEPOSITION.  83 

to  sell  or  let ; "    "  Wood  to  burn ; "    ''  Deadly  to  hear,  and 
deadly  to  tell  j "  "  Good  to  eat." 


Y.— SYNTAX    OF    THE    ADYEEB. 

EuLE  XLI. — The  Adverb  ought  to  be  as  near  as  possible  to 
the  word  it  modifies.  Thus  we  ought  to  say,  "  He  gave  me 
only  three  shillings,"  and  not  "  He  only  gave  me  three  shil- 
lings," because  only  modifies  three,  and  not  gave. 

This  rule  applies  also  to  compound  adverbs,  such  as  at  least,  in  like 
manner,  at  random,  in  part,  etc. 

EuLE  XLIL — Adverbs  modify  verbs,  adjectives,  and  other 
adverbs ;  but  they  can  also  modify  prepositions.  Thus  we 
have  the  combinations  out  from,  up  to,  down  to,  etc. 

In  the  sentence,  "  He  walked  up  to  me,"  the  adverb  up  does  not 
modify  walked,  but  the  prepositional  phrase  to  me. 


YL— SYNTAX    OF    THE    PEEPOSITIOK 

EuLE  XLIII.  —  All  prepositions  in  the  English  language 
govern  nouns  and  pronouns  in  the  objective  case. 

The  prepositions  save  and  except  are  really  verbs  in  the  imperative 
mood. 

EuLE  XLIY, — Prepositions  generally  stand  before  the  words 
they  govern ;  but  they  may,  with  good  eff'ect,  come  after  them. 
Thus  we  find  in  Shakespeare — 

"  Ten  thousand  men  that  fishes  gnawed  upon." 
"  Why,  then,  thou  knowest  what  colour  jet  is  of." 

And,  in  Hooker,  with  very  forcible  effect — 

"  Shall  there  be  a  God  to  swear  by,  and  none  to  pray  to  ?  " 

EuLE  XLY. — Certain  verbs,  nouns,  and  adjectives  require 
special  prepositions.  Thus  we  cannot  say,  "  This  is  different 
to  that,"  because  it  is  bad  English  to  say  "  This  difi'ers  to  that." 
The  proper  preposition  in  both  instances  is  from. 


84 


GRAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


The  following  is  a  list  of  some  of  these 
Special  prepositions: — 


Absolve  from. 

Abhorrence  for. 

Accord  with. 

Acquit  of. 

Affinity  between. 

Adapted  to  (intentionally). 

Adapted  for  (by  nature). 

Agree  with  (a  person). 

Agree  to  (a  proposal). 

Bestow  upon. 

Change  for  (a  thing). 

Change  with  (a  person). 

Confer  on  (  =  give  to). 

Confer  with  (=talk  with). 

Confide  in  (  =  trust  in). 

Confide  to  (=  in  trust  to). 

Conform  to. 

In  conformity  with. 

Comply  with. 

Convenient  to  (a  person). 

Convenient  for  (a  purpose). 

Conversant  with. 

Correspond  with  (a  person). 

Correspond  to  (a  thing). 

Dependent  on  (but  independent  of). 


Derogatory  to. 

Diflfer  from  (a  statement  or  opinion). 

DifiFer  with  (a  person). 

Different  from. 

Disappointed  of  (what  we  cannot 

get).  _ 
Disappointed    in  (what  we    have 

got). 
Dissent  from. 
Exception  from  (a  rule). 
Exception  to  (a  statement). 
Glad  of  (a  possession). 
Glad  at  (a  piece  of  news). 
Involve  in. 
Martyr  for  (a  cause). 
Martyr  to  (a  disease). 
Need  of  or  for. 
Part  from  (a  person). 
Part  with  (a  thing). 
Profit  by. 

Reconcile  to  (a  person). 
Reconcile  with  (a  statement). 
Taste  of  (food). 
A  taste  for  (art). 
Thirst  for  or  after  (knowledge). 


yiL— sy:n'tax  of  the  co:n'ju:n'ctiok 

Rule  XL VI. — The  Conjunction  does  not  interfere  with  the 
action  of  a  transitive  verb  or  preposition,  nor  with  the  mood  or 
tense  of  a  verb. 

(i)  This  rule  is  usually  stated  thus  :  "  Conjunctions  generally  connect 
the  same  cases  of  nouns  and  pronouns,  and  the  same  moods  and  tenses 
of  verbs,  as  '  We  saw  him  and  her,'  '  Let  either  him  or  me  go  !  *  "  But 
it  is  plain  that  saw  governs  her  as  well  as  him ;  and  that  or  cannot 
interfere  with  the  government  of  let.  Such  a  rule  is  therefore  totally 
artificial. 

(ii)  It  is  plain  that  the  conjunction  and  must  make  two  singulars  = 
one  plural,  as  "He  anil  I  are  of  the  same  age." 


KuLE   XLVII. — Certain  adjectives  and  conjunctions   take 


SYNTAX   OF  THE    CONJUNCTION.  85 

after  them  certain  special  conjunctions.  Thus,  such  (adj.) 
requires  as ;  both  (adj.),  and ;  so  and  as  require  as ;  though, 
yet ;   whether,  or ;    either,  or ;    neither,  nor ;   nor,  nor ;  or, 

or.     The  following  are  a  few  examples  : — 

(i)  "  "Would  I  describe  a  preacher  such  as  Paul ! " 

(ii),  "  Though  deep,  yet  clear  ;  though  gentle,  yet  not  dull." 

EuLE  XL VIII. — The  subordinating  conjunction  that  may  be 
omitted.  Thus  we  can  say,  "Are  you  sure  he  is  herel" 
Shakespeare  has,   "  Yet  Brutus  says  he  was  ambitious  !  '* 


THE  ANALYSIS  OP  SENTENCES. 

1.  "Words  are  gregarious,  and  go  in  groups.  AYhen  a  group 
of  words  makes  complete  sense,  it  is  called  a  sentence.  A 
sentence  is  not  a  chance  collection  of  words  ;  it  is  a  true 
organism,  with,  a  heart  and  limbs.  "WTien  we  take  the  limbs 
apart  from  the  central  core  or  heart  of  the  sentence,  and  try  to 
show  their  relation  to  that  core,  and  to  each  other,  we  are  said 
to  analyse  the  sentence.  The  process  of  thus  taking  a  sen- 
tence to  pieces,  and  naming  and  accounting  for  each  piece,  is 
called  analysis. 

(i)  Analysis  is  a  Greek  word  which  means  hreaKng  up  or  taking 
apart :  its  opposite  is  Sjmtliesis,  which  means  making  up  or  putting 
together. 

(ii)  When  we  examine  a  sentence,  and  divide  it  into  its  component 
parts,  we  are  said  to  analyse  the  sentence,  or  to  perform  an  act  of 
analysis.  But  when  we  put  words  or  phrases  together  to  make  a 
sentence,  we  perform  an  act  of  composition  or  of  ssmthesis. 

2.  A  sentence  is  a  statement  made  about  something,  as, 
The  horse  gallops. 

(i)  The  sometMng  (horse)  is  called  the  Subject, 
(ii)  The  statement  (gallops)  is  called  the  Predicate. 

3.  Every  sentence  consists,  and  must  consist,  of  at  least  two 
parts.  These  two  parts  are  the  thing  we  speak  about  and 
what  -we  say  about  that  thing. 

(i)  The  Subject  is  what  we  speak  about. 

(ii)  The  Predicate  is  what  we  say  about  the  subject. 

(i)  There  is  a  proverb  of  Solomon  which  says:  "All  things  are  double  one 
against  another."  So  there  are  the  two  necessarily  complementary  ideas  of  even 
and  odd  ;  of  right  and  left ;  of  north  and  south  ;  and  many  more.  In  language,  the 
two  ideas  of  Snhject  and  Predicate  are  necessarily  coexistent ;  neither  can  exist 
without  the  other;  we  cannot  even  think  the  one  without  the  other.  They  are 
the  two  polei  of  thought. 


THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES.  87 

(ii)  Sometimes  the  Subject  is  not  expressed  in  iuiperative  sentences,  as  in  "Go  !"  = 
"Go  you!" 

(iii)  To  make  a  complete  statement,  the  Predicate  must  always  be  expressed. 

4.  There  are  three  kinds  of  sentences  :  Simple,  Compound, 
and  Complex. 

(i)  A  simple  sentence  contains  only  one  subject  and  one  predicate. 

(ii)  A   complex  sentence  contains   a  chief  sentence,   and  one   or 
more  sentences  that  are  of  subordinate  rank  to  the  chief  sentence. 

(iii)  A  compound,  sentence  contains  two  or  more  simple  sentences 
of  equal  rank. 

I.— THE  SIMPLE  SENTENCE. 

5.  A  Simple  Sentence  is  a  sentence  which  consists  of  one 
subject  and  one  predicate. 

(i)  A  Simple  Sentence  contains,  and  can  contain,  only  one  finite 
verb.  If -we  say,  *'Baby  likes  to  dance,"  there  are  two  verbs  in 
this  simple  sentence.  But  to  dance  is  not  a  finite  verb ;  it  is  an 
infinitive ;  it  is  practically  a  pure  noun,  and  cannot  therefore  be  a 
predicate. 

(ii)  If  we  say,  "  John  and  James  ran  off,**  the  sentence  is=  '*  John 
ran  off "+ "James  ran  off."  It  is  therefore  a  compound  sentence 
consisting  of  two  simple  sentences,  with  the  predicate  of  one  of  them 
suppressed.  Hence  it  is  called  a  contracted  compound  sentence — 
contracted  in  the  predicate. 

In  this  case  the  sentence  may  be  treated  as  Simple,  "  James 
and  John"  forming  a  Compound  Subject  to  the  Predicate 
"ran  off." 

FORMS  OF  SENTENCES. 

6.  Sentences  differ  in  the  Form  which  they  take.  As  re- 
gards form  they  may  be  classified  as  follows  : — 

(i)  Assertive — 

(a)  Positive  : — The  night  grows  cold. 

(b)  Negative  : — I  am  not  going. 

Not  a  drum  was  heard. 
They  oaught  never  a  one. 


88  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(ii)  Interrogative  : — "WTiom  seek  ye  1 
(iii)  Exclamatory  : — How  swiftly  the  river  flows  ! 
In  the  cases  of  Interrogative  or  Exclamatory  sentences,  in 
which  the  usual  order  of  the  words  is  changed  for  the  sake  of 
emphasis  or  efifect,  the  sentences  should  be  put  in  assertive 
straightforward  order  for  the  purpose  of  analysis,  thus  : — 

Ye  seek  whom  ? 

The  river  flows  how  swiftly ! 

(iv)  Imperative  : — Sir,  look  to  your  manners. 
In  imperative  sentences  the  subject  is  usually  om.itted.      In 
this  sentence  ''  Sir  "  is  really  a  nominative  of  address,  and  the 
real  subject  "you"  is  not  expressed, 

(v)  Optative,  expressing  a  -wish,  or  invocation  : — 

* '  God  bless  us  every  one  !  " 
♦•  Oh,  could  I  flow  like  thee  !  " 

In  Greek  there  is  a  special  mood  of  the  verb,  called  the 
optative,  for  expressions  of  this  kind,  but  in  English  the  verb 
is  in  the  subjunctive. 

Note  how  the  Optative  differs  from  tho  merely  Assertive.  Com- 
pare : — 

God  bless  us,  i.e.  May  God  bless  ns  (Optativie) ;  and 
God  blesses  us  (Assertive). 

PARTS  OF  THE  SENTENCE. 

7.  The  Subject  of  a  sentence  is  what  we  speak  about. 
"What  we  speak  about  we  must  name. 

If  we  name  a  thing,  we  must  use  a  name  or  noun. 
Therefore  the  subject  must  always  be  either — 
(i)  A  noun ;   or 
(ii)  Some  word  or  words  equivalent  to  a  noun. 

8.  There  are  eight  kinds  of  Subjects — 

(i)  A  Noun,  as,  England  is  our  home. 
{n)  A  Pronoun,  as,  It  is  our  fatherland. 


THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES.  89 

(iii)  A  Verbal  Woun,  as,  "Walking  is  healtliy. 
(iv)  A  Gerund,  as,  Catching  fish,  is  a  pleasant  pastime, 
(v)  An  Infinitive,  as,  To  swim  is  quite  easy, 
(vi)  An  Adjective,  with  a  noun  understood,  as,  The 

prosperous  are  sometimes  cold-hearted, 
(vii)  A  Quotation,  as,    "  Ay,  ay,  sir ! "    burst   from   a 

thousand  throats. 

(viii)  A  Woun-elause,  as.   That  he  was   a  tyrant  is 
generally  admitted. 

(a)  The  verbal  noun,  as  we  have  seen,  originally  ended  in  ung. 

See  page  40. 

(b)  Catching  is  a  gerund,  because  it  is  both  a  noun  (nomin- 

ative to  is)  and  a  verb,  governing  ^5^  in  the  objective. 

NOTE  (i)  The  Subject  is   sometimes   composite — consisting  of   two  or 
more  words. 

The  house,  the  homestead,  the  very  fences,  all  were  destroyed. 
To  seize  my  gun  and  (to)  fire  was  the  work  of  a  moment. 
To  them  his  heart,  his  love,  his  griefs,  were  given. 

(ii)  The  Subject  sometimes  stands  in  apposition  to  "it"  or 
*'this."  Thus  in  the  sentence  : — "  It  is  my  resolve  to  succeed," 
the  efifective  subject  is  **to  succeed." 

Similarly  in  the  sentence  : — "This  ruined  him,  his  inordinate  love  of  riches,"  the 
effective  subjeet  is  "  Kis  inordinate  love  of  riches."  Compare  also  : — "  That  was  their 
sole  reward,  the  approval  of  their  king. " 

In  these  cases,  "it,"  "this,"  and  "that"  are  simply  temporary  subjects,  the  real 
subject  coming  afterwards  out  of  its  natural  order.  "  It,"  or  any  word  thus  used, 
is  called  the  Provisional  Subject. 

(iii)  Sometimes,  especially  in  poetry,  an  unnecessary  or  redundant 
pronoun  is  put  in  with  the  Subject,  and  may  be  regarded  as  forming 
part  of  it. 

My  banks,  they  are  furnished  with  bees. 

Tired  Nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep, 
He,  like  the  world,  his  ready  visit  pays 
Where  fortune  smiles. 

9.  The  Predicate  in  a  sentence  is  what  we  say  about  the 
STibject.  If  we  say  anything,  we  must  use  a  saying  or  telling 
word.     Now  a  telling  word  is  a  verb. 

Therefore    the    Predicate    must    always    be   a  verb,   or 
some  word  or  words  equivalent  to  a  verb. 


90  GRAI^IMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

10.  There  are  six  kinds  of  Predicate — 

(i)  A  Verb,  as,  God  is.     The  stream  runs. 

(ii)  "  To  be  "  +  a  noun,  as,  He  is  a  carpenter. 
(iii)  "  To  be  "  +  an  adjective,  as,  They  are  idle, 
(iv)  **  To  be  "  +  an  adverb,  as.  The  books  are  there. 

(v)  "  To  be  "  +  a  phrase,  as,  She  is  in  good  health, 
(vi)  "  To  be  "  +  a  clause  or  sentence,  as,  His  cry  was, 
I  die  for  my  country. 

NOTE  (i)  Only  Finite  or  Complete  Verbs  can  form  Predicates.     When 
the  Verb  is  incomplete  or  infinite,  as  in  the  case  of — 

(a)  A  Participle, 

(b)  An  Infinitive, 

it  cannot  form  the  Predicate  of  a  sentence  except  by  the  addition 
of  other  completing  "words.  Thus  "loving"  or  "to  love"  could 
never  form  a  predicate,  although  "loving,"  when  converted  into  a 
finite  verb  by  prefixing  "  was,"  may  form  a  predicate. 

(ii)  The  Verb  is  sometimes  modified  by  an  Adverb  or  Preposition 
which  is  closely  attached  to  it,  and  which  for  the  purpose  of  analysis 
may  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  Predicata 

They  agreed  to  (=  accepted)  my  proposal. 
The  subject  was  well  thrashed  out  (  =  debated). 
The  pirates  stove  in  ( =  broke)  the  cabin-door. 

11.  Cautions : — 

(i)  There  is  a  large  class  of  verbs  knoAvn  as  Copulative 

Verbs,  which  being  connective  rather  than  notional 

in  their  character,  require  another  word  or  phrase 

to  be  associated  with  them  to  :?]  ake  the  predicate 

complete.     Thus  : — 

He  appears  healthy. 

The  apprentice  became  a  merchant. 

The  girl  grew  tall. 

The  poor  creature  seems  to  toe  dying. 

John  stands  six  feet. 

KOTE. — Some  of  these  verbs  are  also  used  transitively,  and  then  take 
an  object  like  other  transitive  verbs  : — Stand  it  on  the  table. 

(ii)  The  frequently  occurring  verb  "  to  be "  (except  in 
the  few  cases  where  it  means  "  to  exist "),  and  some 


THE  ANALYSIS   OF  SENTENCES.  91 

other  copulative  verbs,  as,  to  seem,  to  become, 
etc.,  can  never  form  predicates  by  them.selves. 

(iii)  Beware  of  associating  two  dissimilar  verbs  as  predi- 
cate. Thus  in  the  sentence  :  "He  refused  to  leave 
the  ship,"  the  predicate  is  not  "  refused  to  leave," 
but  simply  "  refused." 

12.  When  the  predicate  consists  of  an  active-transitive 
verb,  it  requires  an  object  after  it  to  make  complete  sense. 
This  object  is  called  either  the  object  or  the  completion.  As 
we  must  name  the  object,  it  is  plain  that  it  must  always,  like 
the  subject,  be  a  noun,  or  some  word  or  words  equivalent  to  a 
noun. 

13.  As  there  are  eight  kinds  of  Subjects,  so  there  are  eight 
kindr  of  Objects,     These  are  : — 

(i)  A  Noun,  as,  All  of  us  love  England. 

(ii)  A  Pronoun,  as.  We  saw  him  in  the  garden. 

(iii)  A  Verbal  Noun,  as,  We  heard  the  reading  of  the 
will. 

(iv)  A  Gerund,  as.  The  angler  prefers  taking  large  fish. 

(v)  An  Infinitive,  as,  We  hate  to  be  idle. 

(vi)  An  Adjective  with  a  noun  understood,  as,  Good 
men  love  the  good. 

(vii)  A  Quotation,  as,  We  heard  his  last  "Good-bye, 
Tom ! " 

(viii)  A  Noun-clause,  as,  I  knew  what  was  the  matter. 

Note  (i)  The  words  it,  this,  and  that  may  form  Provisional  Objects, 
just  as  they  form  Provisional  Subjects  : — 

They  consider  it  infamous  to  desert. 
This  I  command,  no  parley  with  the  foe. 
That  he  abhors,  the  sale  of  flesh  and  blood. 


92  GRAMMAR   OF   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

(ii)  The   Object,    like  the    Subject,   may  consist    of   an    unlimited 
number  of  these  parts  of  speech. 

At  noon  the  outlaw  reached  his  glen, 
His  gathered  spoils,  his  merry  men. 

At  twelve  the  poor  lad  began  to  learn  a  trade  and  (to)  help  his 
parents. 

14.  Verbs  of  giving,  promising,  offering,  handing,  and 
many  such,  take  also  an  indirect  object,  which  is  sometimes 
called  the  dative :  We  gave  the  man  a  shilling.  We  offered 
him  sixpence. 

15.  The  following  may  be  regarded  as  special  kinds  of 
Objects : — 

(i)  A  Factitive  Object : — 

They  made  him  President. 

Milton  did   not  hesitate  to   call  Spenser   a   better  teacher  than 
Socrates  or  Aquinas. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  words  "  made  "  and 
"  call "  have  a  more  restricted  meaning  than 
when  followed  by  ordinary  simple  objects. 

Compare:  —  "They    made    him    President"    with    "They    made 
a  boat,"  "Milton   .   .   .   Aquinas,"  with  "Call  them  quickly." 

In  the  latter   cases   "  made "   and    "  call "   have  a  fuller  meaning 
than  in  the  former. 

Note. — Sometimes  it  may  appear  as  an  Adjective. 

Exercise  made  him  strong. 
They  painted  the  house  white. 

(ii)  A   Cognate  Object,  in  which  the  Predicate  and 
Object  are  words  of  kindred  meaning : — 

Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous. 
He  ran  his  godly  race. 


THE  ANALYSIS  OF  SENTENCES.  93 

(iii)  "When  an  active  verb  with  two  objects  is  changed 
into  the  passive  form,  that  object  which  is  retained 
while  the  other  becomes  the  subject  is  termed  the 
Retained  Object : — 

A  shilling  was  given  the  man. 
The  door  was  denied  him. 

16.  The  Subject  or  the  Object  must  always  be  either — 

(i)  A  Noun ;  or 
(ii)  Some  word  or  words  equivalent  to  a  noun. 

A  Noun  may  have  attached  to  it  any  number  of  adjectives 
or  adjectival  phrases.  An  adjective  or  adjectival  phrase  that 
goes  with  a  subject  or  with  an  object  is  called,  in  Analysis,  an 
Enlargement. 

It  is  so  called  because  it  enlarges  our  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
Thus,  if  we  say,  "The  man  is  tired,"  we  have  no  knowledge  of  what 
kind  of  man  is  spoken  of  ;  but  if  we  say,  "  The  poor  old  man  is  tired," 
our  notion  of  the  man  is  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  the  facts  that  he 
is  both  poor  and  old. 

17.  There  are  seven  kinds  of  Enlargements : — 

(i)  An  Adjective — one,  two,  or  more — That  big  old 
red  book  is  sold. 

(ii)  A  Noun  (or  nouns)  in  apposition,  William  the 
Conqueror  defeated  Harold. 

(iii)  A  Noun  (or  pronoun)  in  the  Possessive  Case, 
His  hat  flew  off. 

(iv)  A  Prepositional  Phrase,  The  walk  in  the  fields 
was  pleasant. 

(v)  An  Adjectival  Phrase,  The  boy,  ignorant  of  his 
duty,  was  soon  dismissed. 


94  GRAMMAR  OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(vi)  A  Participle  (a),  or  Participial  Phrase  (b) — 
Sobbing  and  weeping,  she  was  led  from  the 
room  (a).  The  merchant,  having  made  a  fortune, 
gave  up  business  (b). 

(vii)  A  Gerundial  Infinitive — Anxiety  to  succeed  (  =  of 
succeeding)  wore  him  out.  Bread  to  eat  ( =  for 
eating)  could  not  be  had  anywhere. 

18.  It  is  plain  that  all  these  seven  kinds  of  Enlargements 
may  go  with  the  Object  as  well  as  with  the  Subject. 

19.  An  Enlargement,  being  a  word  or  phrase  that  goes 
with  a  noun  or  its  equivalent,  must  always  be  an  adjective 
or  equivalent  to  an  adjective. 

Note  (i)  An  Enlargement  may  itself  be  enlarged  by  the  same  parts 
of  speech  as  form  the  primary  enlargements. 

(a)  The  handle  of  this  sword  forged  by  Indians  is  richly  jewelled. 

(b)  The  Romans  crossed  a  stream  fed  by  a  glacier  of  the  Southern  Alps. 

The  phrases  "  forged  by  Indians,"  and  "  of  the  Southern  Alps," 
are  enlargements  of  "sword"  and  "glacier"  respectively,  which 
are  themselves  parts  of  qualifying  phrases. 

(ii)    A    Subject   or    Object   may   have   an   unlimited   number   of 
enlargements  of  various  kinds  : — 

The  poor  King,  an  outcast  from  his  own  domain,  suffering  the  pangs 
of  hunger  and  stung  by  bitter  reproaches,  ended  his  days  in  misery. 

Here  King  is  enlarged  by — 

(a)  An  Adjective. 

(b)  A  Noun  in  Apposition. 

(c)  Two  Participial  phrases. 


20.  The  Predicate  is  always  a  Verb,  standing  alone  if 
complete,  or  accompanied  by  other  words  if  a  verb  of  in- 
complete predication. 


THE  ANALYSIS  OF  SENTENCES.  95 

The  part  of  the  sentence  that  goes  with  the  verb  is  either  a 
simple  adverb,  a  compound  adverb,  or  a  phrase  adverbial 
in  its  character. 

21.  The  adverbs  or  adverbial  phrases  that  go  with  the  predi- 
cate are  called,  in  Analysis,  the  Extensions  of  the  Predicate. 

22.  There  are  seven  kinds  of  Extensions  : — 

(i)  An  Adverb,  as,  The  time  went  slowly. 

(ii)  An  Adverbial  Phrase,  as,  Mr  Smith  writes  now 
and  then. 

(iii)  A  Prepositional  Phrase,  as,  Mr  Smith  spoke  with 
great  effect. 

(iv)  A  Woun  Phrase,  as,  We  walked  side  by  side. 

(v)  A  Participial  Phrase,  as.  The  mighty  rocks  came 
bounding  down. 

(vi)  A  Gerundial  Phrase,  as.  He  did  it  to  insult  us 

(  =  for  insulting  us). 

(vii)  An  Absolute  Infinitive  Phrase,  as.  To  tell  you 
the  truth,  I  think  him  very  stupid. 

jg®"  Under  (v)  may  come  also  the  Absolute  Participial  Phrase,  such 
as,  "The  clock  having  struck,  we  had  to  go." 

23.  Extensions  of  the  predicate  are  classified  in  the  above 
section  from  the  point  of  view  of  grammar ;  but  they  are  also 
frequently  classified  from  the  point  of  view  of  distinction  in 
thought. 

In  this  latter  way  Extensions  are  classified  as  extensions  of — 

(i)  Time,  as,  We  lived  there  three  years. 

(ii)  Place,  (a)  Whence,  as.  We  came  from  York. 

(b)  Where,  as,  He  lives  over  the  way. 

(c)  Whither,  as,  Go  home  I 


96  GRAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

(iii)  Manner  (a)  Manner  :  He  treads  firmly. 

(b)  Degree  :  She  writes  better. 

(c)  Accompanying   circumstances  :    They   went  for- 

ward under  a  heavy  fire. 

(iv)  Agent :  James  was  represented  by  his  minister, 
(v)  Instrument :  They  ravaged  the  land  with  fire  and  sword. 

(vi)  Magnitude  (a)  Order  :  He  stood  first  in  his  class. 

(b)  Number  :  The  field  measured  ten  acres. 

(vii)  Mood  (a)  Aflirmation  :  He  certainly  returned. 

(b)  Negation  :  The  enterprise  will  never  succeed. 

JKi"  Never  is  here  a  more  emphatic  form  of  not, 
and  therefore  comes  under  the  head  of  Nega- 
tion rather  than  of  Time. 

(c)  Doubt :  Perhaps  you  will  meet  your  friend, 
(viii)  Cause  :  The  clerk  was  dismissed  for  idleness. 

(ix)  Purpose  :  They  went  abroad  to  better  their  condition. 
(x)  Condition :  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing, 
(xi)  Concession  :  With  all  thy  faults,  I  love  thee  still. 
Here  the  sense  is  obviously  "Notwithstanding  all  thy  faults,"  etc. 


24. 

NOTE  (i)  Just  as  a  Subject  or  Object  may  have  an  unlimited  number 
of  Enlargements,  so  a  Predicate  may  have  any  number  of  Exten- 
sions. 

For  tkree  years  the  widow  dwelt  quietly  in  the  lonely  cottage.  Here  we  have 
three  extensions  of  time,  manner,  and  place  respectively.  Care  should  be  taken 
to  keep  the  various  extensions  quite  distinct  in  analysing;  the  student  should 
letter  or  number  them  (a),  (b),  (c),  etc.,  or  (1),  (2),  (3),  etc.,  and  state  after  each 
its  kind. 

(ii)  Where  two  or  more  extensions  of  the  same  class  appear  they 
should  be  kept  distinct.  At  nightfall,  during  a  heavy  snowstorm- 
they  wandered  forth. 

Here  the  two  extensions  of  time  should  be  taken  separately. 


THE  ANALYSIS   OF  SENTENCES.  97 

NOMINATIVE   OF  ADDRESS. 

25.  The  Nominative  of  Address  may  relate  to — 

(a)  The  Subject :  Milton !  thou  shouldst  be  living  at  this 

hour, 

(b)  The  Object :  I  welcome  you,  good  Masters. 

(c)  An    Extension:    We    shall    pull   towards    you,    Sir 

Knight. 

Or  it  may  be  detached  :  The  castle  keep,  my  Lord,  I 
hold. 

The  Nominative  of  Address  is  interjectional  in  its  nature, 
and  just  as  the  Interjection  is  a  part  of  speech  standing  apart 
from  the  family  formed  by  the  others,  so  a  Nominative  of 
Address  really  forms  no  part  of  the  logical  sentence.  Regarded 
as  somewhat  appositional,  it  may  be  placed  with  that  part  of 
the  sentence  to  which  it  specially  belongs,  or  the  rule  may  be 
adopted  of  placing  it  in  the  same  column  as  the  Subject,  care 
being  taken  to  indicate  that  it  forms  no  part  of  the  logical 
subject. 

26.  The  following  cautions  are  of  importance  : — 

(i)  The  Noun  in  an  absolute  phrase  cannot  be  the 
Subject  of  a  simple  sentence.  "We  can  say,  "  The 
train  having  started,  we  returned  to  the  hotel." 
Here  ■we  is  the  subject. 

The  phrase  *'  the  train  having  started  "  is  an  adverbial  phrase 
modifying  returiied,  and  giving  the  reason  for  the  returning. 

(ii)  A  subject  may  be  compound,  and  may  contain  an 
object,  as,  "  To  save  money  is  always  useful."  Here 
the  subject  is  to  save  money,  and  contains  the 
object  money — the  object  of  the  verb  "to  save." 

An  object  may  also  contain  another  object,  which  is  not  the 
object  of  the  sentence.  Thus  we  can  say,  *'  I  like  to  save  money," 
when  the  direct  object  of  lilse  is  to  save,  and  money  is  a  part  only 
of  that  direct  object. 


98  GRAMMAR    OF    THE    ENGLISH    LANGUAGE. 

(iii)  An  Absolute  Participial  Phrase  (or  Nominative 
Absolute)  is  always  an  Extension  of  the  Predicate, 
and  may  express — 

(a)  Time  :  Tlie  clock  having  struck  one,  we  proceeded. 

(b)  Cause  :  Darkness  coming  on,  the  wanderers  quick- 

ened their  pace. 

(c)  Circumstances :  I  crossed  the  moor,  the  enow  falling 

heavily. 

(iv)  M'ot  usually  forms  an  Extension  of  the  Predicate, 
but  it  may  also  form — 

(a)  Part  of  the  Subject :  Not  a  drum  was  heard.     (Nega- 

tive Enlargement. ) 

(b)  Part  of  the  Object :  We  carved  not  a  line.    (Negative 

Enlargement. ) 
They  heard  never  a  sound.   (Negative  Enlargement. ) 

S^  As  an  Extension  of  the  Predicate,  not  is  usually  independent  of 
other  extensions,  as, 

They  moved    i  ^^*  (Extension  of  Negative) 

(  during  the  storm      (Extension  of  Time) 
but  sometimes  it  simply  negatives  another  Extension,  and  must  not 
be  dissociated  from  it ;  as.  Not  in  vain  he  wore  his  sandal-shoon. 

(v)  There  is  generally — 

(a)  An  Extension  of  Place  ;  There  they  rested. 

But  it  is  sometimes — 

(b)  An  Indefinite  Extension  (a  mere  Expletive). 
There  were  twenty  present. 

The  shadowy  and  vague  character  of  there  is  shown  by  the 
paraphrase  "  Twenty  were  present,"  and  also  by  the  fact  that  in 
translating  the  sentence  into  many  languages  no  equivalent  would 
be  put  for  '*  there." 

(vi)  Distinguish  between  various  uses  of  the  Infinitive, 

(a)  Subject :  To  quarrel  is  not  my  wish. 

(b)  Part  of  the  Predicate  :  He  might  win  the  shield.        , 


THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES.  99 

(c)  Object :  They  love  to  -wander. 

(d)  Extension  of  the  Predicate  :  She  came  to  learn. 

In  this  case  "  to  learn  "  is  not  an  ordinary  infinitive,  but  a  ger- 
undial  infinitive  or  infinitive  of  purpose,  and  is  equivalent  to  "  for 
learning,"     See  p.  40. 

(vii)  Care    must  be  taken  to  distinguish   between  the 

same  word  when  used  as — 

(a)  An  Adjective,   forming    part    of    the    Predicate    with    an 
Intransitive  Copulative  Verb — 

The  king  plays  well. 
This  apple  tastes  sweet, 

or  (b)  An  Adverb,  forming  an  Extension  of  the  Predicate  after  a 
Verb— 

The  king  eats  well. 

How  sweet  the  moonlight  sleeps  upon  this  bank. 

Students  must  be  very  careful  to  discriminate  between  these 
cases.  Where  the  word  indicates  quality,  it  is  adjectival  in  nature, 
and  will  form  part  of  the  Predicate  ;  where  it  indicates  manner,  it  is 
adverbial  in  nature,  and  forms  an  Extension  of  the  Predicate. 

(viii)  In  the  case  of  qualifying  or  limiting  phrases 
(especially  participial  phrases),  it  is  sometimes  diffi- 
cult to  determine  whether  they  are  simple  Enlarge- 
ments of  the  Subject  or  Extensions  of  the  Predi- 
cate. 

Returning  then  the  bolt  he  drew. 
'  A  widow  bird  sat  mourning  for  her  love. 

In  the  first  sentence  ''returning"  is  an  enlargement  of  "he"  ;  in 
the  second  sentence  mourning'  does  not  enlarge  "  bird, "  but  shows 
how  it  sat  mourning,  i.e.  sadly,  sorrowfully. 

The  safest  plan  in  cases  of  this  kind  is  to  determine  what  principal 
part  of  the  sentence  the  qualifying  or  limiting  word  or  phrase  is 
most  closely  connected  with.  If  it  is  essentially  qualifying  in  nature, 
it  is  probably  an  Enlargement  of  the  Subject  or  Object ;  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  expresses  some  modification  of,  or  condition  in  respect 
to,  the  Predicate,  it  is  an  Extension  of  the  Predicate. 


100  GRAMaiAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

THE  MAPPING-OUT  OF  SIMPLE  SENTENCES. 

27.  It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  get  the  eye  to  help  the 
mind,  and  to  present  to  the  sight  if  possible — either  on  paper 
or  on  the  black-board — the  sentence  we  have  to  consider.  This 
is  called  mapping-out. 

Let  us  take  two  simple  sentences  : — 

(i)  *'  From  the  mountain-path  came  a  joyous  sound  of  some  person 

whistling. " 
(11)  "In  the  Acadian  land,  on  the  shores  of  the  Basin  of  Minas, 

Distant,  secluded,  still,  the  little  village  of  Grand-Pr6 

Lay  in  the  fruitful  valley." 

28.  These  may  be  mapped  out,  before  analysing  them,  in  th& 
following  way : — 

joyous 
(i)  A  SOUND  CAME 


o 

some  person  whistliiig'         the  mountain  patlL 

distant,  secluded,  stilL 
little 

little 
(ii)  The  VILLAGE  LAY 

distant,  secluded,  still 


&•  -.c^ 


.^ 

^ 


thefniitfolTaUey.^ 
Grand-Pre         the  Acadian  land  the  shores  ofthe  Basin,  etc. 


THE  ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES. 


101 


FORMS   OF  ANALYSIS. 

29.  The  sentences  may  then  be  analysed  in  either— 

(a)  the  Detailed  form, 
or  (b)  the  Tabular  forni. 

(a)  The  Detailed  form  is  analogous  to  that  adopted  for  parsing, 
and  gives  us  scope  for  subdividing  the  sentence  to  an  unlimited  extent, 
and  giving  the  maximum  amount  of  detail. 

(b)  The  Tabular  form  does  not  provide  for  so  much  detail,  but  it 
has  the  advantage  of  great  clearness,  and,  as  it  greatly  facilitates  the 
examination  of  an  exercise,  it  is  the  form  usually  preferred  by  public 
examiners. 


30. 

(i)  a.  A  sound 

b.  joyous 

c.  of  some  person 

d.  came 

e.  from  the  path 

/.  mountain 

(ii)  a.  The  village 

b.  little 

c.  distant    "| 

d.  secluded  l 

e.  still         J 

/.  ofGrand-Pr4 

^r.lay 

h.  in  the  land 

i.    Acadian 

j.    on  the  shores 

k.   of  the  basin 
I.    of  Minas 
m.  in  the  valley 

n.  fruitf"! 


Detailed  Analysis. 

Subject. 

Adjectival  Enlargement  of  Subject, 
whistling     Prepositional   Phrase,   Enlargement 

of  Subject. 
Predicate. 
Extension     of     Predicate.        Place 

whence. 
Adjectival  Enlargement  of  e. 

Subject. 

Adjectival  Enlargement  of  Subject. 

Part  of  the  Predicate. 

Prepositional  Phrase,  Enlargement 

of  Subject. 
Predicate. 

Extension     of    Predicate.        Place 

where. 
Adjectival  Enlargement  of  h. 
Extension     of     Predicate.        Place 

where. 
Prepositional  phrase,  enlarging  j. 

Extension    of    Predicate.        Place 

•  where. 
Adjectival  Enlargement  of  m. 


102 


GRAMMAR   OF    THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


31. 


Tabular  Analysis. 


Subject. 

Enlarge- 
ment OF 
Subject. 

Predicate. 

Object. 

Enlarge- 
ment OF 
Object. 

1 
Extension 

OF 

Predicate. 

A  sound 

(a) joyous 
(b)  of  some 
person 
whistling 

came 

from  the 
mountain 
path  {place 
whence) 

The  village 

(a)  little 
(b)of 
Grand- Pre 

lay 

(distant, 
secluded, 
still) 

(a)  in  the 
Acadian 
land 
{l^lace 
where) 

(b)  on  the 
shores  of 
the  Basin 

■  of  Minas 
{place 
where) 

(c)  in  the 
fruitful 
valley 
{place 
ivhere) 

IL— THE   COMPLEX   SENTENCE. 

32.  A  Complex  Sentence  is  a  statement  which  contains  one 
Principal  Sentence,  and  one  or  more  sentences  dependent  upon 
it,  which  are  called  Subordinate  Sentences.  There  are  three 
kinds — and  there  can  be  only  three  kinds — of  subordinate 
sentences — Adjectival,  Noun,  and  Adverbial. 

A  subordinate  sentence  is  sometimes  called  a  clause. 


33.  A  Subordinate  Sentence  that  goes  with  a  Noun   or 


THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES.  103 

Pronoun  fulfils  the  function  of  an  Adjective,  is  equal  to  an 
Adjective,  and  is  therefore  called  an  Adjectival  Sentence. 

"  Darkness,  which  might  be  felt,  fell  upon  the  city."  Here  the 
clause,  "  which-might-be-felt,"  goes  with  the  noun  darkness,  belongs 
to  it,  and  cannot  be  separated  from  it ;  and  this  sentence  is  therefore 
an  adjectival  sentence. 

34.  A  Subordinate  Sentence  that  goes  with  a  Verb  fulfils 
the  function  of  an  Adverb,  is  equal  to  an  Adverb,  and  is 
therefore  called  an  Adverbial  Sentence. 

"I  will  go  whenever  you  are  ready."  Here  the  clause,  "whenever 
you  are  ready,"  is  attached  to  the  verb  go,  belongs  to  it,  and  cannot  be 
separated  from  it ;  and  hence  this  sentence  is  an  adverbial  sentence. 

35.  A  Subordinate  Sentence  that  forms  the  Subject  of  a 
Predicate,  or  the  Object,  or  that  is  in  apposition  with  a  noun, 
fulfils  the  function  of  a  Noun,  and  is  therefore  called  a  IJ"oun 
Sentence. 

"He  told  me  that  his  cousin  had  gone  to  sea."  Here  the  clause 
"his  cousin  had  gone  to  sea,"  is  the  object  of  the  transitive  verb  told. 
It  fulfils  the  function  of  a  noun,  and  is  therefore  a  noim  sentence. 

36.  An  Adjectival  Sentence  may  be  attached  to — 

(i)  The  Subject  of  the  Principal  Sentence  ;  or  to 
(ii)  The  Object  of  the  Principal  Sentence ;  or  to 
(iii)  Any  Noun  or  Pronoun. 

(i)  The  book  that-I-bought  is  on  the  table  :  to  the  subject. 
(ii)  I  laid  the  book-I-bought  on  the  table  :  to  the  object. 
(iii)  The  child  fell  into  the  stream  that-runs-past-the-mill  :  to  the 
noun  stream — a  noun  in  an  adverbial  phrase. 

37.  Note.  —  (i)  As  may  in  certain  cases  be  regarded  as  a 
relative  introducing  an  Adjectival  Sentence.  In 
such  cases  it  is  usually  a  correlative  of  such  or 
same. 

I  never  saw  such  fish  as  he  caught  in  the  Avon. 
This  is  the  same  bag  as  you  gave  me  last  year. 


104  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(ii)  But  in  certain  cases  may  be  taken  as  a  negative  rela- 
tive introducing  an  Adjectival  Sentence. 

(a)  There  is  no  man  here  but  loves  you. 
This=  '*  There  is  no  man  here  who  does  not  love  you." 

(b)  "  No  land  but  listens  to  the  common  call." 
"But "  is  equivalent  to  "  which  does  not." 

38.  An  Adverbial  Sentence  may  be  attached  to — 

(i)  A  Verb ; 

(ii)  An  Adjective ;  or  to 

(iii)  An  Adverb. 

(i)  To  a  Verb.  It  does  not  matter  in  what  position  the  verb  is. 
It  may  be  (a)  the  Predicate,  as  in  the  sentence,  "I  walk  when  I 
can."  It  may  be  (b)  an  Infinitive  forming  a  subject,  as,  "  To  get  up 
when  one  is  tired  is  not  pleasant."  It  may  be  {c)  a  participle,  as  in 
the  sentence,  " Having  dined  before  he  came,  I  started  at  once." 

(ii)  To  an  Adjective.     "His  grief  was  such  that  all  pitied  him." 

Here  the  clause  "  that  all  pitied  him  "  modifies  the  adjective  such. 

(iii)  To  an  Adverb.  *'He  was  so  weak  that  he  could  not  stand." 
Here  the  clause  "  that  he  could  not  stand "  modifies  the  adverb  so, 
which  itself  modifies  the  adjective  weak. 

39.  Just  as  there  are  many  classes  of  Adverbs,  so  there  are 
Qiany  different  kinds  of  Adverbial  Sentences. 

(i)  Time.      I  will  go,  -when  you  return, 
(ii)  Place.     Where  the  bee  sucks,  there  suck  I. 
(iii)  Manner.    He  strode,  as  though  he  "were  in  pain. 
(iv)  Degree.     I  spoke  as  loudly  as  I  could  (speak), 
(v)  Proportion.       The    sooner    you   complete  your 

task  the  sooner  you  can  leave, 
(vi)   Condition.     If  you  stand  by  me,  I  will  oppose 

him. 
(vii)  Concession — Provided  this  is  done,  I  will  consent. 
(viii)  Cause.     Avoid  him,  because  he  is  dishonest, 
(ix)  Effect  or  Consequence.     I  carefully  tended  him°, 

consequently  the  "wound  soon  healed, 
(x)  Purpose.     He  worked  very  hard,  for  he  wished 
to  do  "well. 


THE   ANALYSIS    OF   SENTENCES  105 

Cautions : — 

(i)  In  nearly  every  case  the  "word  introducing  the  ad- 
verbial sentence,  as  -when,  -where,  if,  etc.,  helps 
lis  to  recognise  it,  but  occasionally  there  is  no 
introductory  word,  and  we  must  judge  hy  the 
sense  alone. 

In  the  sentence — 

"  Pass  that  line,  and  I  fire  upon  you," 
it  is  evident  that  the  first  clause  is   Adverbial,  and  that  the  real 
meaning  would  be  accurately  expressed  by  the  form  '  *  If  you  pass 
that  line,"  etc. 

(ii) 

''Ye  meaner  fowl,  give  place, 

I  am  all  splendour,  dignity,  and  grace." 

Here  the  second  sentence  is  Adverbial  to   the  first,   and  sense 

demands  "for,"  "because,"  or  "since,"  as  a  connecting  word. 

(iii)  Avoid  the  mistake  of  calling  a  sentence  Adverbial 
simply  because  it  begins  with  an  adverb. 
"First  (he)  loves  to  do,  then  loves  the  good  he  does." 
The  second  sentence  is  not  adverbial,  but  co-ordinate  with   the 
first. 

40.  Adjectival  and  Adverbial  Sentences  are  easily  recognised 
from  the  fact  that  they  have  no  complete  meaning  in  them- 
selves apart  from  the  Principal  Sentence  to  which  they  are 
attached.  Of  some  Principal  Sentences — as,  e.g.,  those  begin- 
ning with  who,  which,  etc. — the  same  thing  may  be  said,  but 
in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  a  Principal  Sentence  is  independent 
in  sense  and  self-contained  in  meaning. 

Take  two  of  the  sentences  given  above. 

"  Which  might  be  felt."     (Adjectival. ) 
"  When  I  can. "  (Adverbial. ) 

Their  incompleteness  is  at  once  perceived.  Their  function  is 
to  qualify,  extend,  modify,  or  limit  the  master  sentence  to 
which  they  are  attached  ;  they  are  distinctly  subordinative. 

The  subordinate  character  of  [N'oun-sentences  is  best  per- 
ceived when  they  are  introduced  by  their  ordinary  connective 
"that";  in  other  cases  their  true  nature  maybe  recognised 
from  their  relationship  to  the  principal  sentence. 


106  GRAlktMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

41.  A  Noun  Sentence  may  be — 

(i)  The  Subject  of  the  Principal  Sentence  ;  or 
(ii)   The  Object  of  the  main  verb ;  or 
(iii)  The  Nominative  after  is;  or 
(iv)  In  Apposition  with  another  ]^oun. 

(i)  " That-he-is-better  cannot  be  denied":  the  subject.  Here 
the  true  nominative  is  tbat.  "  That  cannot  be  denied."  "What? 
*'  That  =  he  is  better."  (From  usage  tliatin  such  sentences  acquires 
the  function  and  force  of  a  conjunction. ) 

(ii)  "I  heard  that-be-was-better  :  "  the  object. 

(iii)  "My  motive  in  going  was  tbat-I-migbt-be-of-use  "  :  nomina- 
tive after  was. 

(iv)  "The  fact  that-he-voted-against-bis-party  is  well  known": 
in  apposition  with  fact. 

Impersonal  Construction — 

And  methought,  while  she  liberty  sang, 

'Twas  liberty  only  to  bear. 
*"Twas-liberty-only-to-hear "  is  a  Noun   sentence,   subject  to   the 
impersonal  verb  "  methought,"  and   forming   with   it   a   principal 
sentence. 

42.  Any  number  of  Subordinate  Sentences  may  be  attached 

to  the  Principal  Sentence.     The  only  limit  is  that  dictated  by 

a  regard  to  clearness,  to  the  balance  of  clauses,  or  to  good  taste. 

The  best  example  of  a  very  long  sentence,  which  consists  entirely 
of  one  principal  sentence  and  a  very  large  number  of  adjective 
sentences,  is  "The  House  that  Jack  built."  "This  is  the  house 
that- Jack-built. "  ' '  This  is  the  malt  that-lay-in-the-house-that- Jack- 
built,"  and  so  on. 

Co-ordinate  Subordinate  Sentences.  Two  or  more  subor- 
dinate sentences  of  the  same  kind  may  be  attached  to  the 
same  principal  sentence. 

Type  of  the  wise,  who  soar  but  (who)  never  roam. 
If  tbe  day  be  fine  and  (if)  I  am  free,  I  will  go  over  the  common. 
John  knew  that  tbe  farmer  bad  cut  bis  com  and  (tbat  be  bad) 
stacked  it. 

In  the  first  sentences  we  have  two  Adjectival  sentences,  subordin- 
ate to  the  principal  and  co-ordinate  with  one  another.  In  the  other 
sentence  we  have  Adverbial  and  Noun-sentences  of  a  corresponding 
character.  The  words  within  parentheses  are  understood  and 
should  be  shown  in  your  analysis. 


THE   ANALYSIS    OF   SENTENCES.  107 

43.  Principal  and  Subordinate.  The  same  sentence  may- 
be subordinate  to  a  principal  sentence,  and  at  the  same  time 
principal  to  another  sentence. 

The  man  "who  hesitates  when  danger  is  at  hand,  is  lost. 

The    sentence    "who   hesitates"   is   adjectival   to   the  principal 
sentence,  and  principal  to  "when  danger  is  at  hand." 

The  sentence  would  not  be  properly  analysed  unless  its  twofold 
character  and  relationship  were  fully  shown. 

Compare  : — Tell  her  that  wastes  her  time  and  me, 
That  now  she  knows, 
When  I  resemble  her  to  thee, 
How  sweet  and  fair  she  seems  to  be. 

44.  Connectives : — 

(i)  Care  must  be  taken  to  associate  introductory  and 

connective  words  with  their  proper  sentences ; 

otherwise  confusion  will  result  and  the  nature 

of  the  sentences  may  be  misunderstood. 

Yet  he  who  reigns  within  himself,  and  rules 
Passions,  desires,  and  fears,  is  more  a  king. 

The  Principal  sentence  here  is  *'  Yet  he  is  more  a  king." 

Thus,  while  I  ape  the  measure  wild 
Of  tales  that  charmed  me  as  a  child, 
Rude  though  they  be,  still  with  the  chime 
Return  the  thoughts  of  early  time. 

"Thus  "  in  the  first  line  introduces  the  principal  sentence  "  Still 
.   .  time." 

Note   the  inversion  in   "Rude  though  they  be,"  and  remember 
that  inversions  are  very  common  in  poetry. 

CAUTIONS    IN    THE    ANALYSIS    OF    COMPLEX 

SENTENCES. 

45.  (i)  Find  out,  first  of  all,  the  Principal  Sentence. 

(ii)  Secondly,  if  the  sentence  is  complicated  or  of 
more  than  average  difficulty,  look  out  the  finite 
verbs ;  these  are  the  kernels  of  the  various  sen- 
tences ;  remember  that  each  finite  verb  means 
a  sentence.  When  you  are  sure  of  your  verbs 
you  will  be  able  to  connect  with  each  its  sub- 
ject, object,  and  extensions. 


108  GRAMMAlt   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(iii)  Thirdly,  look  for  the  sentences,  if  any,  that  attach 
themselves  to  the  Subject  of  the  Principal  Sen- 
tence. 

(iv)  Fourthly,  find  those  sentences,  if  any,  that  belong 
to  the  Object  of  the  Principal  Sentence,  or  to 
any  other  nSToun  or  Pronoun  in  it. 

(v)  Fifthly,  look  for  the  subordinate  sentences  that 
are  attached  to  the  Predicate  of  the  Principal 
Sentence. 

When  a  subordinate  sentence  is  long,  quote  only  the  first  and  last 
words,  and  place  dots  ....  between  them. 

46.   The  following  Cautions  are  necessary  : — 
(i)  A  connective  may  be  omitted. 

In  Shakespeare's  ''Measure  for  Measure,"  Isabella  says — 

"I  have  a  brother  is  condemned  to  die." 

Here  who  is  omitted,  and  "who  .  .  .  die  "  is  an  adjectival  sen- 
tence qualifying  the  object  brother. 

(ii)  Do  not  be  guided  by  the  part  of  speech  that  in- 
troduces a  subordinate  sentence.     Thus: — 

(a)  A  relative  pronoun  may  introduce  a  noun  sentence,  as,  "I  do 
not  know  who-he-is  "  ;  or  an  adjectival  sentence,  as,  "John,  who- 
was-a-soldier,  is  now  a  gardener." 

(b)  An  adverb  may  iutroduce  a  noun  sentence,  as,  "I  don't 
know  wJiere  it  has  gone  ^o  ; "  or  an  adjectival  sentence,  as,  "The 
spot  where  he  lies  is  unknown."  In  the  sentence,  "The  reason  why 
so  few  marriages  are  happy  is  because  young  ladies  spend  their  time 
in  making  nets,  not  in  making  cages  " — the  subordinate  sentence 
"  why  .  .  .  happy"  is — though  introduced  by  an  adverb — in  appo- 
sition to  the  noun  reason,  and  is  therefore  a  noun  sentence. 

(iii)  It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  decide  whether  a  given 

sentence  is  Adjectival  or  Noun. 

Whoever  first  reaches  the  fort  gains  the  prize. 
I  will  reward  whoever  first  reaches  the  fort. 

In  these  sentences  some  would  prefer  to  regard  the  subordinate 
sentence  as  qualifying  "he"  or  "him,"  and  would  class  them  as 
adjectival,  but,  inasmuch  as  they  stand  in  the  one  case  for  subject 
and  in  the  other  for  object,  it  is  preferable  to  take  them  as  noun 
sentences. 

We  speak  that  we  do  know. 


THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES. 


109 


Here,  instead  of  taking  "that  we  do  know  "  as  a  noun  sentence,  it 
is  better  to  split  up  *'  that  "  (a  compound  relative)  into  "that  which  " 
and  take  "which  we  do  know  "  as  an  Adjectival  sentence. 

THE  MAPPING-OUT  OF  COMPLEX  SENTENCES. 

47.   Complex  Sentences  should  be  mapped  out  on  the  same 

principles  as  Simple  Sentences.     Let  us  take  a  sentence  from 

JNIr  Morris's  "  Jason  "  : — 

"And  in  his  hand  he  bare  a  mighty  bow, 
No  man  could  bend  of  those  that  battle  now." 

This  sentence  may  be  drawn  up  after  the  following  plan  : — 
his  hand 

a  mighty 


He 


bare 


bow 


no  man  could  bend 

O 

those 

o 

,£1 

battle  now. 

(The  single  line  indicates  a  preposition ;  the  double   line  a  corn- 
junction  or  conjunctive  pronoun. ) 

48.  The  larger  number  of  subordinate  sentences  there  are, 
and  the  farther  away  they  stand  from  the  principal  sentence, 
the  larger  will  be  the  space  that  the  mapping-out  will  cover. 
Let  us  take  this  sentence  from  an  old  Greek  writer : — 

"Thou  art  about,  0  king!  to  make  war  against  men  who  wear 
leathern  trousers,  and  have  all  their  other  garments  of  leather ;  who 
feed  not  on  what  they  like,  but  on  what  they  can  get  from  a  soil 
that  is  sterile  and  unkindly  ;  who  do  not  indulge  in  wine,  but  drink 
water  ;  who  possess  no  figs,  nor  anything  else  that  is  good  to  eat. " 
This  would  be  set  out  in  the  following  way  : — 
Thou  art  about  .  .  .  against  men 


1 

(i)  wear  .  .   .  trousers 

(ii)  have  .   .  .  leather 

(iii)  feed  not  on 
(a)  thej 

thai 
^lik 

b 
e 

110 


GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


(iv)  feed  on  tliat 


(b)  they  can  get  from  a  soil 


•♦3 


(b^)  is  sterile  and  unkindly 
(v)  do  not  .   .  .  wine 
(vi)  drink  water 
(vii)  possess  no  figs 
(viii)  possess  not  anything  else 


(c)  is  good  to  eat. 

49.  Sentences  may  also  be  pigeon-holed,  or  placed  in  marked- 
off  spaces  or  columns,  like  the  following  : — 

"Thro'  the  black  Tartar  tents  he  passed,  which  stood 
Clustering  like  bee-hives  on  the  low  black  strand 
Of  Oxus,  where  the  summer  floods  o'erflow 
When  the  sun  melts  the  snow  in  high  Pamir.* 


Sektexces. 


Kind  of 

^Sentence. 


A.  He  passed 
through  the 
black  Tartar 
tents 

(a)  which  clus- 
tering like 
bee  -  hives 
stood  on  the 
strand  of 
Oxus, 


(b)  [intheplace] 
which  the 
floods  o'er- 
flow 


Subject. 


Enlarge- 


(c)  when 
melts 


A.  Prin. 
sentence. 


(a)  Adj. 
sen- 
tence 
to  A. 


(b)Adj. 
sent, 
to 

place 
under- 
stood 

(c)  Adv. 

sent, 
to  o'er- 
flow 


He 


which 


floods 


cluster- 
ing 


Predi- 
cate. 


passed 


stood 


the  sun 


the  sum-  o'erflow 
mer 


melts 


Exten- 
sion. 


thro' the 
tents 


on    the 
low 
black 
strand 


Object. 


(which) 


when  in 
high 
Pamir 


snow 


THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES.  Ill 

50.  There  is  a  kind  of  Continuous  Analysis,  which  may 
^ften — not  without  benefit— be  applied  to  longer  passages,  and 
especially  to  passages  taken  from  the  poets.     For  example  : — 

"Alas  !  the  meanest  herb  that  scents  the  gale, 
The  lowliest  flower  that  blossoms  in  the  vale 
Even  where  it  dies,  at  spring's  sweet  call  renews 
To  second  life  its  odours  and  its  hues." 

1.  Alas  !  an  interjection,  with  no  syntactical  relation  to  any  word 

in  the  sentence. 

2.  the  meanest,  attributive  or  enlargement  to  3. 

3.  herb,  Subject  to  4. 

4.  renews,  Predicate  to  3. 

5.  odours  and  hues,  Object  to  4. 

6.  at  .  .  .  call,  Extension  of  renews,  to  4. 

7.  to  .  .  .  life,  Extension  of  renews,  to  4. 

8.  the  lowliest,  attributive  or  enlargement  to  9. 

9.  flower.  Subject  to  10. 
10.  renews,  Predicate  to  9. 

B-!  11.  odours  and  hues.  Object  to  10. 

12.  at  .   .  .  call,  Extension  to  10. 

13.  to  .  .  ,  life,  Extension  to  10. 

{14.  that.  Subject  to  15  and  connective  to  3. 
15.  scents.  Predicate  to  14. 
16.  gale.  Object  to  15. 

{17.  that,  Subject  to  18  and  connective  to  9. 
18.  blossoms.  Predicate  to  17. 
19.  in  the  vale,  Extension  to  18. 

'20.  even.  Adverb  modifying  21. 

jj    21.  where  it  dies,  Extension  to  18. 

1 22.  it,  Subject  of  23. 

w23.  dies,  Predicate  of  22. 

Ill— THE  COMPOUND  SENTENCE. 

51.  A  Compound  Sentence  is  one  which  consists  of  two 
or  more  Simple  Sentences  packed,  for  convenience'  sake,  into 
one. 

Thus,  in  the  "  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  Sir  Walter  Scott  writes  :— 

**  The  way  was  long,  the  wind  was  cold. 
The  minstrel  was  infirm  and  old." 

He  might  have  put  a  full  stop  at  long  and  at  cold,  for  the  sense  ends 


>^ 


112  GRAINLMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

in  these  places,  and,  grammatically,  the  two  lines  form  three 
separate  and  distinct  sentences.  But  because  in  thought  the  three 
are  connected,  the  poet  made  one  compound  sentence  out  of  the  three 
simple  sentences. 

52.  A  Compound  Sentence  may  be  contracted. 

(i)  If  we  say,  "John  jumped  up  and  ran  off,  the  sentence  is  = 
"John  jumped  up  "+ "John  ran  off."  It  is  therefore  a  compound 
sentence  consisting  of  two  simple  sentences,  but,  for  convenience 
sake,  contracted  in  the  subject. 

It  may  be  taken  as  a  Compound  Contracted  Sentence,  and  should 
be  analysed  as  two  connected  sentences. 

Compare  : — And  out  again  I  curve  and  flow 
To  join  the  brimming  river. 

(ii)  In  the  sentence,  "Either  a  knave  or  a  fool  has  done  this," 
the  sentence  is  contracted  in  the  predicate  for  tlie  purpose  of  avoid- 
ing the  repetition  of  the  verb  has  done. 

(iii)  In  "The  troops  caught,  and  the  King  executed  the  rebels," 
the  sentence  is  contracted  in  the  object,  "the  rebels"  being  the 
object  of  both  sentences. 

(iv)  Sometimes  both  Subject  and  Predicate  are  omitted,  as — 
*'  Who  grewest  not  alone  in  power 
And  knowledge ;  but  from  hour  to  hour 
In  reverence  and  in  charity. " 
Here  "who  grewest  "  must  be  inserted  after  "  but." 

(v)  Some  sentences  require  modification  or  addition  before  they 
can  be  satisfactorily  analysed. 

*  *  No  land  but  listens  to  the  common  call, 
And  in  return  receives  supply  from  all." 
This  may  be  rendered 

There  is  no  land  |  which  listens  not  to  the  common  call,  | 
And  which  in  return  receives  not  supply  from  all." 
Alterations,  however,  should  never  be  made  unless  they  are  un* 
avoidable. 

CO-ORDINATE  SENTENCES. 

53.  The  Principal  Co-ordinate  Sentences  of  a  Compound 
Sentence  are  connected  in  various  ways  by  different  classes  of 
Conjunctions.  The  relationship  of  a  sentence  to  a  co-ordinate 
one  preceding  it  is  either — 

(a)  Copulative  or  continuative. 

(b)  Disjunctive. 

(c)  Adversative. 

(d)  Illative. 


THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES.  113 

54.  A  Copulative  Sentence  is  so  connected  with  a  preceding 
one  that  the  idea  expressed  by  it  agrees  -with,  or  simply  carries 
further  the  thought  going  before. 

Each  change  of  many-coloured  life  he  drew, 
Exhausted  worlds,  and  then  imagined  new. 
The  connectives  of  copulative  sentences  are  :  And,  also,  likewise, 

moreover,  further,  furthermore ;   and  correlatives  such  as  :  both — 

and  ;  not  merely — but,  etc. 

NOTE  (i)  The  sense  of  the  sentences  and  their  relationship  to  one 
another  must  be  the  chief  guide  in  deciding  the  nature  of  the  con- 
nection. In  many  cases  the  connecting  word  in  itself  is  mis- 
leading. 

We  met  a  man  at  the  gate.  Who  told  us  the  way. 
Here  the  function  of  the   sentence   "who  told,"  etc.,  is  not  to 
qualify  the  preceding  sentence,  but  to  express  an  additional  fact, 
which  is   co-ordinate  with  the  preceding.      Who  =  and  he,  and  is 
really  copulative. 

(ii)  He  was  not  at  home,  which  was  a  great  pity. 
*' Which"    does  not  introduce  a  subordinate    qualifying   sentence, 
but  is  really  copulative,  introducing  a  co-ordinate  sentence.     It  is 
equivalent  to  "  and  this." 

(iii)  Nor  and  neither,  when  they  are  equivalent  to  "  are  not,"  are 
copulative. 

The  enemy  will  not  fight,  nor  will  they  even  prepare  for  battle. 
They  refused  to  pay,  neither  did  they  offer  to  explain, 
(iv)  While  and  whilst  are  sometimes  only  copulative — 
"The  greater  number  laid  their  foreheads  in  the  dust,  whilst   a 
profound  silence  prevailed  over  all." 

The  second  sentence  is  noway  subordinate  to  the  first ;  it  is  not 
used  to  modify  the  first  adverbially  in  regard  to  time,  but  to 
introduce  a  sentence  of  equal  rank,  the  two  sentences  being 
co-ordinate. 

(v)  Sometimes  the  connective  is  entirely  omitted,  but  the  logical 
connection  of  the  sentences  shows  that  the  second  is  co-ordinate  with, 
and  stands  in  copulative  connection  with,  the  first. 

Her  court  was  pure ;  her  life  serene  ; 

God  gave  her  peace  ;  her  land  reposed. 

55.  A  Disjunctive  Sentence  is  a  sentence  which  implies 
exclusion,   or  presents  an  alternative  to  the  one  before  it. 

Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be. 

The  breath  of  heaven  must  swell  the  sail, 

Or  all  the  toil  is  lost. 


114      GRA^IMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

The  connectives  of  disjunctive  sentences  are  :  Either,  or  ;  neither, 
nor  ;  and  sometimes  "  else  "  and  "otherwise." 

56.  An  Adversative  Sentence  is  one  which,  expresses  an 
idea  in  opposition  to  or  in  contrast  with  that  of  a  pre- 
ceding one. 

To  them  his  heart,  his  love,  his  griefs  were  given  ; 
But  all  his  serious  thoughts  had  rest  in  heaven. 

The  connectives  of  adversative  sentences  are  :  But,  however,  never- 
theless, notwithstanding,  only,  still,  yet ;  and  such  correlatives  as : 
on  the  one  hand — on  the  other  hand,  now — then. 

NOTE. — Sometimes  the  connective  is  not  expressed  : 

They  resent  your  honesty  for  an  instant ;  they  will  thank  you  for 
it  always. 

57.  An  Illative  Sentence  expresses  a  reason  or  inference  in 
reference  to  one  before  it.     Illative  sentences  may  be — 

(a)  Illative  Proper  :  when  the  idea  expressed  is  a  natural  inference, 

from  or  implied  consequence  of  what  is  previously  expressed. 

The  leaves  are  falling  ;  therefore  the  swallows  will  soon  be  gone. 

(b)  Causative  :   when  the  idea  expressed  forms  the  grounds  of  a 

certain  inference  expressed  in  the  preceding  sentence. 

The  swallows  will  soon  be  gone  ;  for  the  leaves  are  falling. 
The  connectives  are  (a)  Illative  Proper  :  Therefore,  hence,  so,  con- 
sequently, etc. 
(b)  Causative  :  For. 

Caution.  —  Great  care  is  necessary  in  distinguishing  be- 
tween an  Illative  "Sentence  and  an  Adverbial  Sentence  of 
Consequence. 

Thus  in  the  sentence.  The  leaves  are  falling  ;  therefore  the  swallows 
will  soon  be  gone,  the  second  sentence  is  a  fair  inference  from,  but  not 
a  necessary  consequence  of,  the  first,  and  is  an  Illative  Sentence. 

Whereas  in  the  sentence.  The  leaves  are  falling ;  therefore  the  trees 
will  soon  be  bare,  the  second  sentence  is  a  necessary  consequence  of 
the  first,  and  is  an  Adverbial  Sentence  of  Effect  or  Consequence. 

The  student  may  draw  for  himself  a  corresponding  distinction  be- 
tween 

The  swallows  will  soon  be  gone  ;  for  the  leaves  are  falling, 

and 

The  trees  will  soon  be  bare  ;  for  the  leaves  are  falling. 


THE   ANALYSIS    OF   SENTENCES.  115 

58.    Note. — (i)    In    some    cases    an   introductory    "  for "   is 

simply  a  preposition,   and  the    sentence   is    neither  Illative 

nor  Adverbial 

For  pathless  marsh  and  mountain  cell 
The  peasant  left  his  lonely  shed. 

(ii)  The  connection  in  the  following  is  exceptional : — 

And  out  again  I  curve  and  flow- 
To  join  the  brimming  river  ; 

For  men  may  come,  and  men  may  go, 
But  I  go  on  for  ever. 

"For  men  may  come"  is  neither  an  Illative  nor  an  Adverbial 
Sentence,  but  a  co-ordinate  sentence,  copulative  to  the  preceding 
ones. 

In  Illative  Sentences  the  connective  is  very  rarely  omitted,  but 
examples  are  not  unknown. 

Milton  !  thou  shouldst  be  living  at  this  hour  : 
England  hath  need  of  thee  ;  she  is  a  fen 
Of  stagnant  waters. 

The  second  and  third  sentences  are  in  illative  relationship  to  the 
first ;  they  give  the  grounds  of  the  first  statement,  and  might  fitly 
begin  with  for. 


PARENTHETICAL   SENTENCES. 

59.   Sometimes  sentences  are  interposed  in  a  way  that  com- 
plicates the  analysis. 

These  are  the  very  people  who  you  thought  were  lost. 

Here  *'  who  were  lost  "  is  really  a  noun  sentence  to  its  principal 
"you  thought";  but  it  is  an  adjectival  sentence  to  the  real  prin- 
cipal "  These  are  the  very  people. "  *'  You  thought "  is  therefore  best 
taken  as  a  parenthetical  sentence,  having  a  principal  relationship  to 
*'  who  were  lost." 

In  other  cases  the  relationship  of  the  interposed  sentence  to  the 
rest  of  the  sentence  is  less  clear. 

Then  I  stood  up — and  I  was  scarcely  conscious  of  my  surroundings 
— and  fired  my  gun. 

The  interposed  sentence  may  be  regarded  as  principal  and  co- 
ordinate with  the  other  two,  but  on  account  of  its  loose  relationship 
it  is  better  taken  as  simply  "parenthetical." 


WORD-BUILDING   AND    DERIVATION. 

1.  The  primary  element — that  which  is  the  shortest  form — 
of  a  word  is  called  its  root.  Thus  tal  (which  means  number)  is 
the  root  of  the  words  tale  and  tell 

2.  The  stemi  is  the  root  +  some  modification.  Thus  love 
(  =  lov  +  e)  is  the  stem  of  lov. 

3.  It  is  to  the  stem  that  inflexions  are  added,  and  thus  to 
love  we  add  d  for  the  past  tense. 

4.  If  to  the  root  we  add  a  suffix,  then  the  word  so  formed  is 
called  a  derivative.  Thus  by  adding  ling  to  dar  ( =  dear*), 
we  make  darling, 

5.  In  general,  we  add  English  prefixes  and  English  suffixes 
to  English  words ;  but  this  is  not  always  the  case.  Thus  we 
have  cottage,  where  the  Latin  ending  age  is  added  to  the  Eng- 
lish word  cot;  and  covetousness,  where  the  English  ending 
ness  is  added  to  the  Latin  word  covetous.  Such  words  are 
called  hybrids. 

6.  When  two  words  a-re  put  together  to  make  one,  the  one 
word  so  made  is  called  a  compound. 

7.  The  adding  of  prefixes  or  of  suffixes  to  words,  or  the 
making  one  word  out  of  two,  is  called  word-formation. 

COMPOUND    NOUNS. 

8.  Compound  Nouns  are  formed  by  the  addition  of  : — 
(i)  Noun  and  Noun,  as — 

Bandog  (  =  bond-dog).  Brimstone  (  =  burn-stone). 

Bridal  (  =  bride-ale).  Bylaw  (  =  law  for  a  hy  or  town). 


COMPOUND    ADJECTIVES. 


117 


Daisy  ( =  day's  eye). 

Evensong, 

Garlic  ( =  gar-leek  =  spear -leek  ; 

O.E.  gar,  spear). 
Gospel  (  =  God's  spell  =  story). 
Housetop. 

Huzzy  (  =  housewife). 
Icicle  (  =  is-gicel  =  ice-jag). 


Lapwing  ( =  leap  -wing) . 
Nightingale  ( =  night-singer),  ^ 
Orchard  (  =  ort-yard  =  wort-yard,  i.e., 

herb-garden). 
Stirrup  (  =  stig-rap  =  rising  rope). 
Tadpole  (=  toad-head.     Pole  =  poll,  a 

head,  as  in  poll-tax). 
Wednesday  (  =  Woden's  day). 


(ii)  Noun  and  Adjective,  as — 

Blackbird.  Midnight. 

Freeroan.  Midsummer. 


Quicksilver. 

Twilight  (  =  two  lights). 


B^  Black'bird  has  the  accent  on  black,  and  is  one  word.    A  black'bird  need  not  be  a 
black'  bird'. 


(iii)  Noun  and  Vert),  as — 

Bakehouse.  Grindstone. 

Cutpurse.  Pickpocket. 

Godsend.  Pinfold. 

(iv)  Noun  and  Adverb,  as  oflFshoot. 

(v)  Noun  and  Preposition,  as  afterthought. 

(vi)  Verb  and  Adverb,  as — 

Castaway. 


Spendthrift. 

Wagtail. 

Washtub. 


Welfare. 


Drawback. 
Farewell. 


Income. 
Welcome. 


COMPOUND   ADJECTIVES. 

9.  There  are  in  the  language  a  great  many  compound  adjec- 
tives, such  as  heart-ioliole,  sea-sick,  etc.;  and  these  are  formed 
in  a  large  number  of  different  ways. 

Compound  adjectives  may  be  formed  In  the  following  ways  : — 

(i)  Noun  -+-  Adjective,  as   purse-proud,    wind-swift,   way-weary,  sea- 
green,  lily-white. 

(ii)  Noun -I- Present  Participle,   as   ear-piercing,  death-boding,  heart- 
rending, spirit-stirring,  sea-faring,  night-walking,  home-keeping. 

(iii)  Noun -I- Passive  Participle,  as  moth-eaten,  worm-eaten,  tempest- 
tossed,  waylaid,  forest-born,  copper-fastened,  moss-clad,  sea-girt. 

(iv)  Adverb  +  Present    Participle,   as  far-darting,    everlasting,   high- 
.    stepping,  well-meaning,  long-suffering,  far-reaching,  hard-working. 

(v)  Adverb -f  Passive  Participle,  as  high-bom,  "ill-weaved,"  well-bred, 
thorough-bred,  high-strung,  ill-pleased. 


118  GEAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

(vi)  Noun  +  Noun  +  ed,  as  hare-brained,  dog-hearted,  beetle- headed, 
periwig-pated,  club-footed,  lily-livered,  trumpet-tongued,  eagle-eyed. 

(vii)  Adjective  +  Noun -fed,  as  evil-eyed,  grey-headed,  thin-faced, 
empty-headed,  tender-hearted,  thick-lipped,  two-legged,  three-cornered, 
four-sided,  high-minded,  bald-pated. 

(viii)  Noun -t- Noun,  as  bare-foot,  lion-heart,  iron-side. 

(ix)  Adverb  -f  Noun  +  ed,  as  down-hearted,  under-handed, 

COMPOUND   VERBS. 

10.  There    are    not   many  compound  verbs   in   the    English 

language.     The  few  that  there  are  are  formed  thus : — 

(i)  Verb  and  Noun,  as — 

Backbite.  Hamstring.  Hoodwink. 

Browbeat.  Henpeck.  Kiln -dry. 

(ii)  Verb  and  Adjective,  as— 

Dumfound.  ^  Fulfil  (  =  fill  full).  Whitewash. 

(iii)  Verb  and  Adverb,  as — 
Doff  { =  do  off).  Dout  ( =  do  out).  Cross-question. 

Don  (  =  do  on).  Dup(  =  doup).  Outdo. 

THE    FORMATION    OF  ADVERBS. 

11.  Adverbs  are  derived  from  Nouns,  from  Adjectives,  from 
Pronouns,  and  from  Prepositions. 

a.  Adverbs  derived  from  JSTouns  are  either :  (i)  Old  Posses- 
sives,  or  (ii)  Old  Datives,  or  (iii)  Compounds  of  a  Noun  and 
a  Preposition  : — 

(i)  Old)  Possessives  :  Needs  =  of  need,  or  of  necessity.    The  Calendrer 

says  to  John  Gilpin  about  his  hat  and  wig — 

"  My  liead  is  twice  as  big  as  yours, 
Tliey  therefore  needs  must  fit." 

Of  the  same  class  are  :  always,  nowadays,  betimes. 

(ii)  Old  Datives.  These  are  seldom  and  the  old-fashioned  whilom 
(  =  in  old  times). 

(iii)  Compounds:  anon  =  (in  one  moment),  abed  (  =  on  bed)  asleep, 
aloft,  abroad,  indeed,  of  a  truth,  by  turns,  perchance,  perhaps. 

b.   Adverbs    derived    from    Adjectives    are   either :    (i)    Old 

Possessives,  or  (ii)   Old  Datives,  or  (iii)   Compounds  of  an 

Adjective  and  a  Preposition  : — 

(i)  Old  Possessives  :  else  (ell-es,  possessive  oi  aZ  =  other),  Tina  waxes, 
once  (  =  ones),  twice,  thrice,  etc. 


PREFIXES. 


119 


(ii)  Old  Datives.  The  old  English  way  of  forming  an  adverb  was 
simply  to  use  the  dative  case  of  the  adjective — which  ended  in  e.  Thus 
we  had  deep§,  brighte,  for  deeply  and  brightly.  Then  the  e  dropped 
away.  Hence  it  is  that  there  are  in  English  several  adverbs  exactly 
like  adjectives.  These  are:  fast,  hard,  right  (in  "Right  Reverend"), 
far,  ill,  late,  early,  loud,  high,  etc. 

(iii)  Compounds  of  an  Adjective  and  a  Preposition :  on  high,  in 
vain,  in  short,  at  large,  of  late,  etc. 

c.  Adverbs  derived  from  Pronouns  come  from  the  pronominal 
stems  :  "who,  the  (or  this),  and  he.  The  following  is  a  table, 
and  it  is  important  to  note  the  beautiful  correspondences  : — 


Pronominal 

Stems. 

Place 
In. 

Place 
To. 

Place 
From. 

Time 
In. 

Manner. 

Cause. 

Wh-o 

Whe-re 

Whither 

Whence 

When 

Ho-W 

Wh-y 

Th-e  or  th-is 

The-re 

Thi-ther 

The-nce 

The-n 

Th-us 

Th-e 

He 

He-re 

Hi-ther 

He-nce 

(i)  How  and  why  are  two  forms  of  the  same  word — the  instrumental 
case  of  who.     How  =  in  what  way  ?     Why  =  with  what  reason  ? 

(ii)  The,  in  the  last  column,  is  the  adverbial  the  (A.S.  thy)  before  a 
comparative.  It  is  the  instrumental  ease  of  that  (A.S.  thaet).  "The 
more,  the  merrier  "  =  by  that  more,  by  that  merrier.  That  is,  the 
measure  of  the  increase  in  the  number  is  the  measure  of  the  increase  in 
the  merriment. 


d.  Compound  Adverbs  are  formed  by  adding  together — 
(i)  Noun  and  Noun,  as  lengthways,  endways, 
(ii)  Noun  and  Adjective,  as  — 

Always.  Head-foremost,  Otherwise. 

Breast-high.  Meanwhile.  Sometimes, 

(iii)  Preposition  and  Noun,  as  Aboveboard,  outside, 
(iv)  Adverb  and  Preposition,  as — 

Hereafter.  Therein,  Whereupon. 


PREFIXES   AND    SUFFIXES. 

12.  The  Prefixes  used  in  our  language  are  of  English,  French, 
Latin,  and  Greek  origin. 

(i)  French   is   only  a  modified    Latin.     Hence    French   prefixes   fall 
naturally  under  Latin  prefixes,  as  the  one  is  only  a  form  of  the  other. 


120  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

13.  English  Prefixes  are  divided  into  Inseparable  and 
Separable.  Inseparable  Prefixes  are  those  that  have  no  mean- 
ing by  themselves  and  cannot  be  used  apart  from  another  word. 
Separable  Prefixes  may  be  used  and  are  used  as  independent 
words. 

14.  The  following  are  the  most  important 

English  Inseparable  Prefixes  : — 

1.  A  (a  broken-down  form  of  O.E.  an  =  on),  as — 

Abed.  Aloft  (  =  in  the  lift  or  sky).       A-building. 

Aboard.       Away.  Athwart. 

2.  Be  (an  O.E.  form  of  hy),  which  has  several  functions  : — 

(i)  To  add  an  intensive  force  to  transitive  verbs,  as — 

Bedaub.  Beseech  Besmear. 

Besprinkle.  (  =  beseek).  Besmirch. 

(ii)  To  turn  intransitive  verbs  into  transitive,  as — 

Bemoan.  Bespeak.  Bethink. 

(iii)  To  make  verbs  out  of  nouns  or  adjectives,  as — 

Befriend.  Beguile.  Benumb.  Betroth. 

Besiege  (  =  to  take  a  siege  or  seat  beside  a  town  till  it  surrenders). 

(iv)  To  combine  with  nouns,  as — 

Behalf.  Bequest.  Bypath. 

Behest.  Byname.  Byword. 

(t)  To  form  part  of  prepositions  and  adverbs,  as  before,  besides,  etc. 

3.  For  (O.E.  /or  =  Lat.  per)   means   thoroughly ^   and   has   two   func- 
tions : — 

(i)  To  add  an  intensive  meaning,  as  in — 

Forbid.  Forget.  Forswear. 

Fordone  (  =  ruined).       Forgive.  Forlorn  (  =  utterly  lost). 

63"  Forswear  means  to  swear  out  and  out,  to  swear  to  anything,  hence  falsely. 
Compare  the  Latin  perjurare ;  hence  our  perjure. 

(ii)  To  give  a  negative  meaning,  as  in  forgo  (wrongly  spelled /ort'^o), 
to  go  without. 

4.  Fore  =  before  ;  as  forebode,  forecast. 

5.  Gain    (O.E.   gegn,    back,    again),,    found    in    gainsay    (to    speak 

against). 


PREFIXES.  121 

6.  Mis  (O.E.  mis,  wrong ;  and  connected  with  the  verb  to  miss), 
as  in — • 

Misdeed.  Mislead.  Mistrust.  Mistake. 

Caution. — When  mis  occurs  in  certain  words  of  French  origin,  it  is 
a  shortened  form  of  minus,  less  ;  as  in  mischief,  mischance,  miscount, 
miscreant  ( =  non-believer). 

7.  Unknot,  as 

Unholy.  Undo.  Unbind. 

8.  Wan  (O.E.  wan,  wanting;  and  connected  with  wane),  which  is 
found  in — 

Wanton  ( =  wantowen,  Wanhope  ( =  despair), 

lacking  education).  Wantrust. 

9.  With  (a  shortened  form  of  O.E.  tvither —  hskck  or  against)  is 
found  in — 

Withstand.  Withdraw.  Withhold. 

SW  It  exists  also  in  a  latent  form  in  the  word  drawi7ig-room= withdrawing- 


room. 


15.  The  foilowing  are  the  most  important 

Englisli  Separable  Prefixes  : — 

1.  After,  which  is  found  in — 

Aftergrowth.         Aftermath  {from  mow).         After-dinner. 

2.  All  (O.E.  al,  quite),  which  is  found  in — 

Almighty.  Alone  (quite  by  one's  self).         Almost. 

3.  Forth,  found  in  forthcoming,  etc. 

4.  Fro  (a  shortened  form  of  from),  in  froward. 

5.  In  appears  in  modern  English  in  two  forms,  as  : — 
(i)  In,  in — 

Income.  Insight.  Instep. 

Inborn  Inbred.  Inlay. 

(ii)  En  or  em  (which  is  a  Frenchified  form),  in — 

Endear.  Entwine.  Embolden. 

Enlighten.  Embitter. 


122  GRAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

6.  Of  or  off  (which  are  two  spellings  of  the  same  word),  as — 

Ofifspring.  Offset. 

Offshoot.  Offal  (that  which  falls  of). 

7.  On,  as  in  onset,  onslaught,  onward. 

8.  Out,  which  takes  also  the  form  of  ut,  as  in — 

Outbreak.  Outside.  Utter. 

Outcast.  Outpost.  Utmost. 

9.  Over  (the  comparative  of  the  ove  in  above),  which  combines :— ' 
(i)  With  nouns,  as  in — 

Overcoat.  Overflow.  Overhand. 

(ii)  With  adjectives,  as  in — 

Over-bold.  Over-merry.  Over-proud. 

(Shakespeare  is  very  fond  of  such  forms. ) 

(ill)  With  verbs,  as  in — 

Overthrow.  Overspread.  Overhear. 

10.  Thorough  or  through,  two  forms  of  the  same  word,  as  in — 
Throughout.  Through-train.  Thorough -bred.  Thoroughfare. 

Shakespeare  has  "thorough  bush,  thorough  brier,  thorough  flood,  thorough  fire. 

11.  Twi  =  two,  in  twilight,  twin,  twist,  etc. 

12.  Under,  which  goes  : — 
(i)  With  verbs,  as  in — 

UnderHe.  Undersell.  Undergo, 

(ii)  With  nouns,  as  in — 

Underhand.  Underground.  Undertone. 

(iii)  With  other  words,  as  in — - 

Underneath.  Underlying. 

13.  Up,  which  goes : — 
(i)  With  verbs,  as  in — 

Upbear.  Upbraid.  Uphold. 

(ii)  With  nouns,  as  in — 

Upland.  Upstart.  Upshot. 

(iii)  With  other  words,  as  in — 

Upright.  Upward. 


PREFIXES.  123 

16.  There  are  in  use  in  our  language  many  Latin  Prefixes ; 
and  many  of  them  are  of  great  service.  Some  of  them,  as 
circum  (about),  come  to  us  direct  from  Latin  ;  others,  like 
counter  (against),  have  come  to  us  through  the  medium  of 
French.       The  following  are  the   most  important 

Latin  Prefixes : — 

1.  A,  ab,  abs  (Fr.  a,  av),  away  from,  as  in — 

Avert.  Abjure.  Absent.  Abstain. 

Avaunt.  Advantage  (which  ought  to  be  avantage). 

2.  Ad  (Fr.  a),  to,  which  in  composition  becomes  ac,  af,  ag,  al,  an,  ap, 
ar,  as,  at,  to  assimilate  with  the  first  consonant  of  the  root.  The  fol- 
lowing are  examples  of  each  : — 

Adapt.  Affect.  Accord.  Agree. 

Aggression.  Allude.  Annex.  Appeal. 

Arrive.  Assimilate.  Attain.  Attend. 

S^  All  these  words  come  straight  to  us  from  Latin,  except  agree,  arrive,  and 
attain.  The  following  are  also  French :  Achieve  (to  bring  to  a  chef  or  head), 
amount,  acquaint. 

3.  Amb,  am  {ambi,  about),  as  in — 

Ambition.  Ambiguous.  Amputate. 

4.  Ante  (Fr.  an),  before,  as  in — 

Antedate.  Antechamber.  Ancestor  (=  antecessor). 

5.  Bis,  bl,  twice,  as  in — 

Bisect.  Biscuit  ( =  biscoctus,  twice  baked), 

6.  Circum,  circa,  around,  as  in — 

Circumference.  Circulate.  Circuit. 

7.  Cum,  with,  in  French  com,  which  becomes  col,  con,  cor,  coun,  and 
CO  before  a  vowel,  as  in — ■ 

Compound.  Collect.  Content.  Correct. 

Counsel.  Countenance.  Coeval.  Cooperate. 

(i)  In  cost  (from  constare,  to  "stand");  couch  (from  coUoco,  I  place);  C2(U 
(from  colUgo,  I  collect) ;  and  cousin  (from  consobrlnus,  the  child  of  a  mother's 
sister),  the  prefix  has  undergone  great  changes 

(ii)  Co,  though  of  Latin  origin,  can  go  with  purely  English  words,  as  in  co- 
worker. 

8.  Contra  (Fr.  contre),  against,  which  also  becomes  contro  and 
counter,  as  in — 

Contradict.  Controvert.  Counterbalance. 

(i)  In  counterweigh  and  co^tnterwork  we  find  it  in  union  with  English  roots. 
(li)  In  encounter  we  find  it  converted  into  a  root. 


124  GRA3IMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

9.  De  (Fr.  de),  down,  from,  about,  as  in — 

Decline.  Describe.  Depart. 

It  has  also  two  different  functions.     It  is — 

(i)  negative  in  destroy,  deform,  desuetude,  etc. 
(ii)  intensive  in  desolate,  desiccate  (to  dry  up),  etc. 

10.  Dis,  di  (Fr.  des,  de),  asunder,  in  two,  as  in — 

Dissimilar.  Disarm.  Dismember. 

Differ  (s  becomes  f).     Disease.  Divorce. 

Defy.  Defer.  Delay. 

(i)  Dis  is  also  joined  with  English  roots  to  make  the  hybrids  disown,  dislike, 
distrust,  distaste. 

11.  Ex,  e  (Fr.  es,  e),  out  of,  from,  as  in — 

Exalt.  Exhale.  Expatriate  (patria,  one's  country). 

Elect.  Evade.  Educe. 

(i)  ex  has  a  privative  sense  in  ex-emperor,  etc. 
(ii)  In  amend  (emendo),  astonish  (etonner),  the  e  is  disguised, 
(iii)   In  sample  (short  for  example),  scorch  (O.  Fr.  escorcer),  and  special  (for 
e^eeial),  the  e  has  fallen  away. 

12.  Extra,  beyond,  as  in- 

Extraneous.  Extraordinary.  Extravagant, 

(i)  In  stranger  (O.  Fr.  estranger,  from  Lat.  extraneus)  the  e  has  fallen  away. 

13.  In  (Fr.  en,  em),  in,  into,  which  changes  into  il,  im,  ir,  as  in — 

Invade.  Invent  (to  come  upon).  Infer. 

Illusion.  Improve.  Immigrate. 

Irritate.  Irrigate.  Irradiate. 

Enchant.  Endure.  Envoy. 

(i)  It  unites  with  English  roots  to  make  the  hybrids  embody,  embolden,  endear^ 
entrust,  enlighten,  etc. 
(ii)  In  ambush  (Ital.  imboscarsi,  to  put  one's  self  in  a  wood),  the  in  is  disguised. 

14.  In,  not,  which  becomes  il,  im,  ir,  and  ig,  as  in — 

Inconvenient.         lUiberaL  Impious.  Irrelevant. 

Incautious.  Illegal.  Impolitic.         Ignoble. 

(i)  The  English  prefix  un  sometimes  takes  its  place,  and  forms  hybrids  with 
Latin  roots  in  unable,  unapt,  uncomfortable. 
(ii)  Shakespeare  has  unpossible,  unproper,  and  many  others. 

15.  Inter,  Intro  (Fr.  entre),  between,  among — as  in 

Intercede.  Interpose.  Interfere. 

Introduce.  Entertain.  Enterprise. 

16.  Male  (Fr.  man),  ill,  as  in — 

Malediction,  (contracted  through  French  into) 
Malison  (opposed  to  Benison).  Maugre. 


PREFIXES.  125 

17.  Mis  (Fr.  mes,  from  Latin  minus),  less,  as  in — 
Misadventure.  Mischance.  Mischief. 

Caution. — Not  to  be  confounded  with  the  EngKsh  prefix  mis  in  mis- 
take, mistrust,  etc. 

18.  Non,  not,  as  in — 

Nonsense.  Non-existent.  Nonsuit. 

(i)  The  initial  n  has  dropped  off  in  umpire,  tovmerly  numpire  =  0.  Fr.  nonper  = 
Lat.  nonpar,  not  equal. 

(ii)  The  n  has  fallen  away  likewise  fr0m  norange,  napron  (connected  with  nap- 
kin, napery),  etc.,  by  wrongly  cleaving  to  the  indefinite  article  a. 

19.  Ob,  against,  becomes  oc,  of,  op,  etc.,  as  in — 

Obtain.  Occur.  Offend.  Oppose. 

20.  Pene,  almost,  as  in — 

Peninsula.  Penultimate  (the  last  but  one). 

21.  Per  (Fr.  par),  through,  vphich  becomes  pel,  as  in — 

Pellucid,  Perform.  Perjure. 

Perfect.  Permit.  Pilgrim. 

(i)  Pilgrim  comes  from  peregrinus,  a  person  who  wanders  per  agr»s,  through 
the  fields,— by  the  medium  of  Ital.  pellegrino. 
(ii)  Perhaps  is  a  hybrid. 

22.  Post,  after,  as  in — 

Postpone.  Postdate.  Postscript. 

(i)  The  post  is  much  disguised  in  puny,  which  comes  from  the  French  puis  n€ 
=  Lat.  post  natus,  born  after.  A  "puny  judge"  is  a  junior  judge,  or  a  judge  of  a 
later  creation. 

23.  Prse,  pre  (Fr.  pre),  before,  as  in — 

Predict.  Presume.  Pretend.  Prevent. 

(i)  It  is  shortened  into  a  pr  in  prize,  prison,  apprehend,  comprise  (all  from  pre- 
hendo,  I  seize). 

(ii)  It  is  disguised  in  provost  (prepositus,  one  placed  over),  in  preach  (from  prai- 
dico,  I  speak  before),  and  provender  (from  prcebeo,  I  furnish). 

24.  Prseter,  beyond,  as  in — 

Preternatural.        Preterite  (beyond  the  present).         Pretermit. 

25.  Pro  (Fr.  pour),  which  becomes  pol,  por,  pur,  as  in— 

Pronoun.  Proconsul.  Procure.  Protest. 

Pollute.  ■  Portrait.  Pursue.  Purchase. 

26.  Re  (Fr.  re),  back,  again,  which  becomes  red,  as  in — 
Kebel.  Reclaim.  Recover.  Refer, 
Redeem.              Redound.                Readmit.              Recreant. 

(i)  It  is  much  disguised  in  rally  (  =  re-ally),  in  ransom  (a,  shortened  Fr.  form  of  re- 
demption), and  in  runagate  (= renegade,  one  who  has  denied— nefifam^— his  faith). 
(ii)  It  combines  with  English  roots  to  form  the  hybrids  relay,  reset,  recall. 


126  GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

27.  Retro,  backwards — as  in  retrograde,  reti-ospect. 

(i)  It  is  disguised  in  rear-guard  (Ital.  retro-gardia),  rear,  and  arrears. 

28.  Se  (Fr.  s6),  apart,  which  becomes  sed,  as  in — 

Secede.  Seclude.  Seduce.  Sedition. 

29.  Sub  (Fr.  sous  or  sou),  under,  which  becomes  sue,  suf,  sud,  sum, 
sup,  sur,  and  sus,  as  in — 

Subtract.  Succour.  Suffer.  Suggest. 

Summon.  Supplant.  Surrender.  Suspend. 

(i)  Sub  is  disguised  in  sojourn  (from  O.  Fr.  sojorner,  from  Low  Latin  suhdiumdre), 
and  in  sudden  (from  Latin  suMta7icus). 

(ii)  It  combines  with  English  roots  to  form  the  hybrids  sublet,  suhvcor'ker ,  sub' 
kingdom,  etc. 

30.  Subter,  beneath — as  in  subterfuge. 
81,  Super  (Fr.  sur),  above,  as  in — 

Supernatural.  Superpose.  Superscription. 

Surface  (superficies).         Surname.  Surtout  (over-all). 

(i)  It  is  disguised  in  sovereign  (which  Milton  more  correctly  spells  sovran),  from 
Low  Latin  superanus. 

32.  Trans  (Fr.  tres),  beyond,  which  becomes  tra,  as  in  — 
Translate.  Transport.  Transform.  Transitive. 
Tradition.             Traverse.                Travel.  Trespass. 

(i)  It  is  disguised  in  treason  (the  Fr.  form  of  tradition,  from  trado  (=transdo), 
I  give  up),  in  betray  and  traitor  (from  the  same  Latin  root),  in  trance  and  entrance 
(Latin  transitus,  a  passing  beyond),  and  in  trestle  (from  Latin  diminutive  transtil' 
lum,  a  little  cross-beam). 

33.  Ultra,  beyond,  as  in — 

Ultra-Liberal.  Ultra-Tory.  Ultramontane, 

(i)  In  outrage  (0.  Fr.  oultrage)  the  ultra  is  disguised. 

34.  Unus,  one,  which  becomes  un  and  uni,  as  in — 
Unanimous.  Uniform.  Unicorn. 

35.  Vice  (Fr.  vice),  in  the  place  of,  as  in — 

Viceroy.  Vicar.  Vice-chancellor.  Viscount. 

17.  Our  language  possesses  also  a  considerable  number  of 
prefixes  transferred  from  tbe  Greek  language,  many  of  which 
are  very  useful.     The  following  are  the  most  important 

Greek  Prefixes : — 

1.  An,  a  {av,  d),  not,  as  in — 

Anarchy.        Anonymous.        Apterj'x  (the  wingless).        Atheist. 

2.  AmpM  {ufKpl),  on  both  sides,  as  in — 

Amphibious.  Amphitheatre. 


PREFIXES.  127 

3.  Ana  (aud),  up,  again,  back,  as  in — 

Anatomy.  Analysis.  Anachronism. 

4.  Anti  {avrl),  against  or  opposite  to,  as  in — 

Antidote.  Antipathy.  Antipodes.  Antarctic. 

5.  Apo  {a.Tr6),  away  from,  which  also  becomes  ap,  as  in — 

Apostate.  Apostle.  Apology.  Aphelion. 

6.  Arcli,  arclii,  arclie  {dpxv),  chief,  as  in— 

Archbishop.         Archangel.  Architect.  Archetype. 

7.  Auto  (avrSs),  self,  which  becomes  auth,  as  in — 

Autocrat.  Autograph.  Autotype.  Authentic. 

8.  Cata,  cat  (Kara),  down,  as  in — 

Catalogue.  Catapult.  Catechism.  Cathedral. 

S.  Dia  (Sia),  through,  across,  as  in — 

Diameter.  Diagram.  Diagonal. 

(i)  This  prefix  is  disguised  in  devil— from  Gr.  dlabolos,  the  accuser  or  slanderer, 
from  Gr.  diaballein,  to  throw  across. 

10.  Dis,  di  (Sis),  twice,  as  in — 

Dissyllable.  Diphthong.  Dilemma. 

11.  Dys  (Sws),  ill,  as  in — 

Dysentery.  Dyspeptic  (contrasts  with  Eupeptic). 

12.  Ec,  ex  (e/f,  e|),  out  of,  as  in — 

Eccentric.  Ecstasy.  Exodus.  Exotic. 

13.  En  (eV),  in,  which  becomes  el  and  em,  as  in — 

Encyclical.  Encomium.  Ellipse.  Emphasis. 

14.  Epl,  ep  (eTTi),  upon,  as  in — 

Epitaph.  Epiphany.  Epoch.  Ephemeral. 

15.  Eu  (e5),  well,  which  also  becomes  ev,  as  in — 

Euphemism.  Eulogy.  Evangelist. 

16.  Hemi  {wl),  half,  as  in — 

Hemisphere.  Hemistich  (half  a  line  in  poetry). 

17.  Hyper  (wW/j),  over  and  above,  as  in — 

Hyperborean.       Hyperbole.       Hypercritical.       Hypermetrical 

18.  Hypo,  hyp  {vir6),  under,  as  in — 

Hypocrite.  Hypotenuse.  Hyphen. 

19.  Meta,  met  {/xerd),  after,  changed  for,  as  in — 

Metaphor.         Metamorphosis.         Metonymy.         Method. 

20.  Mono,  mon  {/xSuos),  alone,  as  in — 

Monogram.        Monody.  Monad.  Monk. 


128 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


21.  Pan  {TTav),  all,  as  in — 

Pantheist.         Panacea. 


Panorama. 


Pantomime. 


22.  Para  {irapd),  by  the  feide  of,  which  becomes  par,  as  in — 


Paradox. 


Parallel. 


23.   Peri  (irepi),  round,  as  in. — 
Perimeter.         Period. 


Parish. 


Perigee. 


Parody. 
Periphery. 


24.  Pro  (irpo),  before,  as  in — 

Prophet.  Prologue.  Proboscis.  Problem. 

25.  Pros  (tt/jos),  towards,  as  in — 

Prosody.  Proselyte. 

26.  Sya  {<ri>v),  with,  which  becomes  syl,  sym,  and  sy,  as  in — 

Syntax.  Synagogue.  Syllable. 

Sympathy.  Symbol.  System. 

18.  The  Suffixes  employed  in  the  English  language  are  much 
more  numerous  than  the  Prefixes,  and  much  more  useful.  Like 
the  Prefixes,  they  come  to  us  from  three  sources — from  Old 
English  (or  Anglo-Saxon) ;  from  Latin  (or  Erench) ;  and  from 
Greek. 

19.  The  following  are  the  most  important 

English.  SuflB.xes  to  Wouns : — 

1.  Ard  or  art  (  =  habitual),  as  in — 

Braggart.  Coward.  Drunkard.         Dullard. 

Laggard.  Niggard.  Sluggard.  Wizard. 

2.  Craft  (skill),  as  in — 

Leechcraft  (  =  medicine).         Priestcraft.         "Witchcraft. 
Woodcraft.  Rimecraft  (old  name  for  Arithmetic). 

3.  D,  t  or  til  (all  being  dentals),  as  in — 

(i)  Blood  (from  blow,  said       Blade  (from  the  same). 


of  flowers). 
Flood  (flow). 

(ii)  Drift  (drive). 
Flight  (fly). 

Rift  (rive). 

(iii)  Aftermath  (mow). 
Death  (die). 
Mirth  (merry). 


Seed  (sow). 

Drought  (dry). 
Height  (high :  Milton 
uses  highth). 
Theft  (thieve). 

Berth  (bear). 

Earth  (ear  =  plough). 

Sloth  (slow). 


Deed  (do). 

Thread  (throw). 

Draught  (draw). 
Shrift  (shrive). 

Weft  (weave). 

Dearth  (dear). 
Health  (heal). 
THth  (till). 


SUFFIXES.  129 

4.  Dom  (O.E.  d6m=doom),  power,  office,  as  in — 

Dukedom.  Kingdom.  Halidom  (=holiness). 

Christendom.  Thraldom.  Wisdom. 

(i)  In  O.E.  we  had  bisceopdom  (—hisho'pdom);  and  Carlyle  has  accustomed  us 
to  rascaldom  and  scoundreldom. 

5.  En  (a  diminutive),  as  in — 

Chicken  (cock).  Kitten  (cat).  Maiden. 

(i)  The  addition  of  a  syllable  has  a  tendency  to  modify  the  preceding  vowel— as 
in  kitchen  (from  cook),  vixen  (from /ox),  and  national  (from  nation). 

6.  Er,  which  has  thrde  functions,  to  denote — 
(i)  An  agent,  as  in — 

Baker.  Dealer.  Leader.  Writer. 

(ii)  An  instrument,  as  in — 

Finger  (from  O.E.  fangan,  to  take).     Stair  (from  stigan,  to  mount). 

g^  The  ending  er  has  become  disguised  in  liar  and  saAlor  (not  sailer, 
which  is  a  ship),  but  not,  however,  in  beggar,  in  which  the  suffix  is 
not  English  at  all.  Beggar  is  derived  from  the  Low  Latin  beg- 
hardus ;  so  burglar  from  the  Low  Latin  burgulator.  Under  the 
influence  of  Norman-French,  an  i  or  i/  creeps  in  before  the  r,  as  in 
collier  (from  coal),  lawyer,  glazier  (from  glass),  etc. 

7.  Hood  (O.E.  had),  state,  rank,  person,  as  in — 

Brotherhood.  Childhood.  Priesthood.  Wifehood, 

(i)  In  Godhead,  this  suffix  takes  the  form  of  head. 

8.  Ing  (originally = son  of)  part,  as  in — 

Farthing  (fourth).       Riding  {trithing=thirding).       Tithing  (tenth). 

(i)  This  suffix  is  found  as  a  patronymic  iit  many  proper  names,  such  as  Brown- 
ing-, Harding  ;  and  in  Kensington,  Whittington,  etc. 
(ii)  Lording  (=the  son  of  a  lord)  and  whiting  (from  white)  are  also  diminutives. 

(iii)  This  ing  is  to  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  ing  (—ung)  which  was 
the  old  suffix  for  verbal  nouns,  as  clothing,  learning,  etc. 

9.  Kin  (a  diminutive),  as  in — 

Bodkin.         Firkin  {irom  four).         Lambkin.         Mannikin. 

(i)  It  is  also  found  in  proper  names,  as  in  Dawkins  (  =  little  David),  Jenkins 
(=son  of  little  John),  Eaiokins  (=son  of  little  Hal),  Perkins  (=son  of  little  Peter). 

10.  Ling=  1  +  ing  (both  diminutives),  as  in — 

Darling  (from  dear).  Duckling.  Gosling  (goose). 

Firstling.  Hireling.  Nestling. 

(i)  Every  diminutive  has  a  tendency  to  run  into  depreciation,  as  in  ground- 
ling, underling,  worldling,  etc. 

^\  t 


130  GRAMMAR   OF   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

11.  Le  or  1,  as  in — 

Beadle  (from  heodan,  to  bid).        Bundle  (bind).        Saddle  (seat). 
Settle  (seat).  Nail.  Sail. 

12.  Lock  (O.E.  lac,  gift,  sport),  which  also  becomes  ledge,  as  in — 

Knowledge.  Wedlock.  Feohtldc  (battle). 

(i)  This  is  not  to  be  confused  with  the  lock  and  lick  in  the  names  of  plants, 
which  in  O.E.  was  leac,  and  which  we  find  in  hemlock,  charlock;  garlick  {=spear 
plant)  and  barley  (  =  berelic). 

13.  Ness  forms  abstract  nouns  from  adjectives,  as  in — 

Darkness.         Holiness.         "Weakness.         "Weariness. 

(i)  Wit7iess  differs  from  the  above  in  two  respects  :  (a)  it  comes  from  a  verb — 
witan,  to  know  ;  and  (&)  is  not  always  an  abstract  noun. 

(ii)  This  English  suffix  combines  very  easily  with  foreign  roots,  as  in  acute- 
nes8,  commodiousness,  graceful,  ess,  remoteness,  and  manj'  others. 

14.  Nd  (wliich  is  the  ending  of  the  present  participle  in  O.E.),  found 
in — 

Friend  (=the  loving  one).  Fiend  (=the  hating  one). 

Errand.  Wind  (from  a  root  vd,  to  blow). 

15.  Ock  (a  diminutive),  as  in — 

Bullock.  HillocL  Ruddock  (=redbreast). 

(i)  In  hawk  (=the  seizer,  from  Ttave)  this  suffix  is  disguised, 
(ii)  It  is  also  found  in  proper  names,  as  in — 

Pollock  (from  Pawl).        Maddox  (from  Matthew).        Wilcox  (from  William). 

16.  M  or  om,  which  forms  nouns  from  verbs,  as  in — 

Bloom  (from  blow).  Qualm  (from  quell). 

Gloom  (from  glow).  Seam  (from  sew). 

Gleam  (from  glow).  Team  (from  tow). 

(i)  This  suffix  unites  with  the  Norman-French  word  real  (royal)  to  form  the 
hybrid  realm. 

17.  Red  (mode,  fash  on — and  also  counsel),  as  in — 

Hatred.  Kindred.  Sibrede  (relationship). 

(i)  This  ending  is  also  found  in  proper  nouns.  Thus  we  have  Mildred=m,ild 
in  counsel;  Ethelred=noble  in  counsel,  called  also  Unrede,  y/hich.  does  not  mean 
unready,  but  without  counsel. 

18.  Ric  (O.E.  rice,  power,  dominion) — as  in  bishopric. 
(i)  In  O.E.  we  had  cd)botric,  hevenricke,  and  kingric. 

19.  Ship    (O.E.  scipe,   shape    or   form),  which  is  also  spelled  scape 
and  skip,  makes  abstract  nouns,  as  in — 

Fellowship.  Friendship.  Lordship 

Landscape.  Workmanship.  Worship  ( =  worthship). 

(i)  Milton  writes  landskip  for  landscape. 


SUFFIXES.  131 

20.  Stead  (O.E.  st^de,  place),  as  in — 

Bedstead.  Homestead. 

Hampstead.  Berkhamstead. 

21.  Ster  was  originally  the  feminine  of  er,  the  sufiBx  for  a  male  agent : 
it  has  now  two  functions  : — 

(i)  It  denotes  an  agent,  as  in — 

Huckster  (hawker).  Maltster. 

Songster.  Roadster. 

(ii)  It  has  an  element  of  depreciation  in — 

Gamester.  Punster. 

Oldster.  Youngster. 

(iii)  We  had,  in  Old  English,  haxter  (fem.  of  laker),  wehster  {weaver),  breiuster, 
fithelstre  (fiddler),  seamestre  (sewer),  etc.  Most  of  these  are  now  used  as  proper 
names. 

(iv)  Spinster  is  the  feminine  of  spinner,  one  form  of  which  was  spinder,  which 
then  became  spider. 

22.  Wright  (from  work,  by  metathesis  of  the  r),  as  in — 
Shipwright.         Wain wright  (=  waggon wright).        Wheelwright. 

23.  Ward,  a  keeper,  as  in — 

Hay  ward.  Steward  {= sty -ward).  Woodward, 

(i)  Ward  has  also  the  Norman-French  form  of  guard. 

(ii)  In  steward,  the  word  stige  or  sty  meant  stall  for  horses,  cows,  etc 

20.  The  following  are  the  most  important 

English  Suf&xes  to  Adjectives  : — 

1.  Ed  or  d,  the  ending  for  the  passive  participle,  as  in — 

Cold  (■=  chilled).         Long-eared.         Lauded.         Talented. 

2.  En,  denoting  material,  as  in — 

Golden.  Silvern.  Flaxen.  Hempen. 

Oaken.  Wooden.  Silken.  Linen  (from  Zin,  flax), 

3.  En,  the  old  ending  for  the  passive  participle,  as  in — 

Drunken.  Forlorn.  Molten.  Hewn. 

4.  Em,  denoting  quarter,  as  in — 

Eastern.  Western.  Northern.         Southern. 

5.  Fast  (O.E.  faest,  firm),  as  in — 

Steadfast.         Rootfast.         Shamefast  (wrongly  shamefaced). 

6.  Fold  (O.E.  feald),  as  in- 

Twofold.  Threefold.        ^         Manifold. 

(1)  Simple,  from  Lat.  sir^plex,  has  usurped  the  place  of  anfeald  =  onefold. 


132  GTIAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

7.  Tvl  =  full,  as  in  — 

Hateful.  Needful.  Sinful.  Wilful 

8.  Ish  (O.E.  Isc)  has  three  functions  ;  it  denotes  : — 
(i)  Partaking  in  the  nature  of,  as  in — 

Boorish.  Childish.  Churlish.  Waspish, 

(ii)  A  milder  or  sub-form  of  the  quality,  as  in — 

Blackish.  Greenish.  Whitish.  Goodish. 

(iii)  A  patrial  relation,  as  in — 

English,  Irish.  Scottish.  Welsh. 

9.  Le,  with  a  diminutive  tendency,  as  in — 

Little  {lyt).  Brittle.  Fickle. 

10.  Less  (O.E.  leas),  loose  from,  as  in — 

Fearless.  Helpless.  Sinless.  Toothless. 

11.  Like  (O.E.  He),  softened  in  ly,  as  in — 

Childlike,         Dovelike.         Wifelike.         Warlike. 

Godly.  Manly.  Womanly.       Ghastly  (  =  ghostlike). 

12.  Ow  (O.E.  u  and  wa),  as  in — 

Narrow.  Callow.  Fallow.  Yellow. 

13.  Bight,  with  the  sense  of  direction,  as  in — 

Forthright.  Downright.  Upright. 

14.  Some  (O.E.  sum,  a  form  of  same,  like),  as  in — 

Buxom  (from  6w^an,         Gladsome.  Lissom  (  =  lithesome). 

to  bend). 
Irksome.  Gamesome.  Winsome. 

15.  Teen  (O.E.  tyne)  =  ten  by  addition,  as  in — 

Thirteen.  Fourteen.  Fifteen.  Sixteen. 

(i)  In  thirteen  =  three  +  ten,  the  r  has  changed  its  place  by  metathesis, 
(ii)  In  fifteen,  the  hard /has  replaced  the  soft  v. 

16.  Ty  (O.E.  tig)  =  tens  by  multiplication,  as  in — 

Twenty  (  =  twain-tj).         Thirty  (  =  three-ty).         Forty. 

17.  Ward  (O.E.  weard,  from  weorthan,  to  become),  denoting  direc- 
tion, as  in — 

Fro  ward  (from).  Toward.  Untoward. 

Awkward  (from  awJc,  Homeward.  Seaward, 

contrary). 

(i)  This  ending,  ward,  has  no  connection  with  ward,  a  keeper.    It  is  connected 
with  the  verb  worth  in  the  line,  ' '  Woe  worth  the  chase,  woe  worth  the  day ! " 


SUFFIXES.  133 

18.  Y  (O.E.  ig,  the  guttural  of  which  has  vanished)  forms  adjectives 
from  nouns  and  verbs,  as  in — 


Bloody. 

Crafty. 

Mighty. 

Silly. 

Dusty. 

Heavy  (heave). 

Stony. 

Weary. 

21.  The  following  are  the  most  important 

English  Suffixes  for  Adverbs  : — 

1.  Ere,  denoting  piace  in,  as  in 

Here.  There.  Where. 

2.  £s  or  s  (the  old  genitive  or  possessive),  which  becomes  se  and  ee, 
as  in — 

Needs.  Besides.  Sometimes.  Unawares. 

Else.  Hence.  Thence.  Once, 

(i)  "  I  must  needs  go"  =  of  need. 

3.  Ly  (O.E.  lice,  the  dative  of  lie),  as  in — 

Only  {  =  onely).  Badly.  Willingly.  Utterly. 

4.  Ling,  long,  denotes  direction,  as  in- 

Darkling.  Grovelling.  Headlong.  Sidelong. 

(i)  Grovelling  is  not  really  a  present  participle ;  it  is  an  adverb,  and  was  in 
O.E.  gruflynges. 
(ii)  We  once  had  also  the  adverbs  jlatlings  and  noselings. 

5.  Meal  (O.E.  maelum  =  at  times),  as  in — 

Piecemeal.  Limbmeal. 

(i)  Shakespeare,  in  "  Cymbeline,"  has  the  line- 

"  O  that  I  had  her  here,  to  tear  her  limbmeal." 
(ii)  Chaucer  has  stonnd-meal  —  hour  by  hour ;  King  Alfred  has  styTckeinaelum 
= stick-meal,  or  here  and  there. 

6.  Om  (an  old  dative  plural),  as  in — 

Whilom  (=  in  old  times).  Seldom  (from  seld,  rare). 

7.  Ther,  which  denotes  place  to,  as  in — 

Hither.  Thither.  Whither. 

8.  Ward  or  wards,  which  denotes  direction,  as  in — 

Homeward.  Homewards.         Backwards.        Downwards. 

9.  Wise  (O.E.  wise,  manner,  mode),  as  in — 

Anywise.  Nowise.  Otherwise.         Likewise. 

"Some  people  ar«  wise  ;  and  some  are  otherwise." 


134  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

22.  The  following  are  the  most  important 

English  Suifixes  for  Verbs  : — 

1.  Le  or  1  has  two  functions  : — 
(i)  Frequentative,  as  in — 

Dabble  (dab).  Grapple  (grab).  Waddle  (wade). 

Dribble  (ilnp).  Drizzle  (from  dreosan,  to  fall).  Jostle. 
(ii)  Diminutive,  as  in — 

Dazzle  (daze).  Dibble  (dip).  Dwindle. 

Gabble.  Niggle.  Sparkle. 

2.  Er  or  r  adds  a  frequentative  or  intensive  force  to  the  original 
verb,  as  in — 

Batter  {beat).  Chatter.  Glitter  {glow).        Flutter  {flit). 

Glimmer  {gleam).       Clatter.  Sputter  (sptO. 

Stagger,  Stammer.  Stutter.  Welter. 

Er  has  also  the  function  of  making  causative  verbs  out  of  adjectives,  as  linger 
(long),  lower,  hinder. 

3.  En  or  n  makes  causative  verbs  out  of  nouns  and  adjectives,  as  in — 

Brighten.  Fatten.  Lighten,  Lengthen. 

Broaden.  Gladden.  Soften.  Sweeten. 

4.  E  has  a  frequentative  force,  as  in — 

Hark  {hear).  Stalk.  Lurk. 

5.  S  or  se  has  a  causative  force,  as  in — 

Cleanse  {clean).  Rinse  (from  hrein,  clean). 

23.  The  Suffixes  of  Latin  origin  are  of  great  importance ;  and 
they  have  been  of  great  use  for  several  centuries.  ]\Iany  of 
them — indeed,  most  of  them — have  been  influenced  by  passing 
through  French  mouths,  and  hence  have  undergone  consider- 
able change.     The  following  are  the  chief 

Latin  and  French  Sufi&xes  for  Wouns  : — • 

1.  Age   (Lat,    aticum),  which  forms  either  abstract  or  collective 
nouns,  as  in — 

Beverage.  Courage.  Carnage.  Homage. 

Marriage.  Personage,  Vassalage,  Vintage, 

(i)  It  unites  easily  with  English  roots  to  form  hybrids,  as  in  bondage,  mileage, 
tonnage,  poundage,  tillage,  shrinkage. 

2.  An,  ain,  or  ane  (Lat.  anus),  connected  with,  as  in — 

Artisan,  Pagan.  Publican.  Roman. 

Chaplain,  Captain.  Humane.  Mundane, 

(i)  The  suffix  is  disguised  in  sovereign  (O.  Fr,  soverain),  which  has  been  wrongly 
supposed  to  have  something  to  do  with  reign;  in  warden,  citizen,  surgeon,  etc. 
Milton  always  spells  sovereign,  sovran. 


SUFFIXES.  135 

3.  Al  or  el  (Lat.  Slis),  possessing  the  quality  of,  as  in — 

Animal.  Cardinal.  Canal.  Channel. 

Hospital.  Hostel.  Hotel.  Spital. 

(i)  Canal  and  channel  are  two  different  forms — doublets— of  the  same.     So  are 
cattle  and  chattels  (capitalia). 

(ii)  Hospital,  spital,  hostel,  hotel,  are  four  forms  of  the  one  Latin  word  hospit- 
alium.    {Ostler  is  a  shorter  form  of  hosteller,  with  a  dropped  ?i.) 

4.  Ant  or  ent  (Latin  antem  or  entem),  denotes  an  agent,  as  in — 

Assistant.  Servant.  Agent.  Student. 

5.  Ance,  ancy,  or  ence,  ency  (Lat.  antia,  entia),  form  abstract  nouns, 
as  in — 

Abundance.  Chance.  Distance.  Brilliancy. 

Diligence.  Indulgence.         Constancy.  Consistency. 

(i)  Chance  comes  from  late  Lat.  cadentia=a.n  accident.     Cadence  is  a  doublet. 

6.  Ary,  ry,  or  er  (Lat.  arium),  a  place  where  a  thing  is  kept,  as  in — 

Apiary  {apis,  a  bee).      Armoury.       Granary.         Sanctuary, 
Ewer  (aqu-aria).  Vestry.  Larder.  Saucer. 

(i)  The  ending  ry  unites  freely  with  English  words  to  form  hybrids,  as  in 
cockery,  piggery,  robbery. 

(ii)  In  Jewry,  jewellery  (pv  jewelry),  'poultry,  peasantry,  cavalry,  the  ry  has  a  col- 
lective meaning. 

7.  Ary,  ier,  eer,  or  er  (Lat.  arms),  denotes  a  person  engaged  in  some 
trade  or  profession,  as  in — 

Commissary.  Notary.  Secretary.  Statuary. 

Brigadier.  Engineer.  Mountaineer.        Mariner. 

(i)  This  ending  is  disguised  in  chancellor  (cancellarius),  vicar,  butler  {—bottler), 
usher  {ostiarius,  a  doorkeeper),  premier,  etc. 

8.  Ate  (Lat.  atus,  past  participle  ending),  becoming  in  French  e  or  ee, 
denotes — 

(i)  An  agent,  as  in — 

Advocate.  Curate.  Legate.  Private. 

(ii)  The  object  of  an  action,  as  in — 

Grantee.  Legatee.  Trustee.  Vendee. 

S^  In  grandee  the  passive  signification  is  not  retained. 

9.  Ce  (Lat.  cium,  tiuzn,  or  tia)  forms  abstract  nouns,  as — 

Benefice.  Edifice.  Sacrifice. 

Hospice.  Palace.  Grace. 

10.  El,  le  or  1  (Lat.  filus,  ellus,  etc.),  a  diminutive,  as  in  — 

Angle  (a  little  corner).  Buckle  (from  bucca,  the  cheek). 

Castle.         Chapel.         Libel.  Pommel.         Title.         Seal. 

(1)  Castle,  from  liat'castellum,  a  little  fort,  from  castrum,  a  fort, 
(ii)  Libel,  from  Lat.  llbellus,  a  little  book  {liber). 
(iii)  Pommel,  from  Lat.  pomum,  an  apple. 
(iv)  Seal,  from  Lat.  sigillum. 


136  GRAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

11.  Em  (Lat.  erna),  denoting  place,  as  in — 

Cavern.  Cistern. 

12.  Et,  ette,  and  let  (Fr.  et,  ette)  all  diminutives,  as  in — 

Bassinette.  Buflfet.  Chaplet.  Coronet. 

Goblet.  Gibbet.  Lancet.  Leveret. 

Puppet.  Trumpet.  Ticket.  Turret. 

(i)  The  let  is  — 1  +  et,  and  is  found  in  bracelet,  fillet,  cutlet,  etc.  It  also  unites 
"With  English  words  to  form  hybrids — as  in  hamlet,  leaflet,  ringlet,  streamlet,  etc. 

(ii)  This  ending  is  disguised  in  ballot  (a  small  ball),  chariot  (car),  parrot 
{=perroquet),  etc. 

13.  Ess  (late  Lat.  Issa),  a  female  agent,  as  in — 

Empress.  Governess.  Marchioness.  Sorceress. 

(i)  It  unites  with  English  words  to  form  the  hybrids  murderess,  sempstress 
(The  last  is  a  double  feminine,  as  seamestre  is  the  old  word.) 

14.  Ice,  ise,  or  ess  (Lat.  tia;  Fr.  esse),  as  in — 

Avarice.  Cowardice.  Justice.  Merchandise. 

Distress.  Largess.  Noblesse.  Riches. 

(i)  It  is  a  significant  mark  of  the  carelessness  with  which  the  English  language 
has  always  been  written,  that  the  very  same  ending  should  appear  in  three 
spellings  in  largess,  noblesse,  riches. 

(ii)  Riches  is  a  false  plural :  it  is  an  abstract  noun,  the  French  form  being  richesse. 

15.  Ice  (Lat.  icem  ace,  of  nouns  in  x),  which  has  also  the  forms  of 
ise,  ace,  as  in — 

Chalice.  Pumice.  Mortise.  Furnace, 

(i)  The  suffix  is  much  disguised  in  radish  (=the  root,  from  radicem). 
(ii)  It  is  also  disguised  in  partridge  and  judge  (Judlcem). 

16.  Icle  (Lat.  iculus,  ellus,  ulus),  which  appears  also  as  eel  and  sel, 
a  diminutive,  as  in — 

Article  (a  little  joint).         Particle.         Receptacle.         Versicle. 
•Parcel  (particella).  Morsel  (from  mordeo,  I  bite). 

Damsel  {dominicella,  a  little  lady). 

(i)  The  ending  is  disguised  in  rule  (regula),  carbuncle  (from  carbo,  a  coal),  uncle 
(avunculus),  and  vessel  (from  vas). 
(ii)  Parcel  and  particle  are  doublets. 

17.  Ine  or  in  (Lat.  inus)  related  to,  as  in — 

Divine  (noun).  Cousin. 

(i)  Cousin  is  a  contraction  —  through  French — of  the  Latin  consobHnus, 
the  child  of  a  mother's  sister. 

(ii)  The  ending  is  disguised  in  pilgrim,  from  peregrinus  =  from  per  agros, 
through  the  fields. 

18.  Ion  (Lat.  ionem),  which  appears  also  as  tion,  sion,  and,  from 
French,  as  son,  som,  denotes  an  action,  as  in — 


SUFFIXES.  137 

Action.  Opinion.  Position.  Vacation. 

Potion.  Poison.  Benediction.  Benison. 

Redemption.  Ransom.  Malediction.  Malison. 

(i)  Potion,  poison,  and  the  three  other  pairs  are  doublets  —  the  first  having 
come  through  the  door  of  books  straight  from  the  Latin,  the  second  through 
the  mouth  and  ear,  from  French. 

(ii)  Venison  (hunted  flesh,  from  venationem),  season  (sationem,  the  sowing 
time),  belong  to  the  above  set. 

19.  Ment  (Lat,  mentum)  denotes  an  instrument  or  an  act,  as  in — 

Document.  Instrument.  Monument.  Ornament. 

(i)  It  combines  easily  with  English  words  to  make  hybrids,  as  atonement^ 

acknowledgment,  beioitchment,  fidfilment. 

20.  Mony  (Lat.  monium)  makes  abstract  nouns,  as — 
Acrimony.  Matrimony.  Sanctimony.  Testimony. 

21.  Con  or  on  (Fr.  on;  Ital.  one),  an  augmentative,  as  in — 

Balloon.  Cartoon.  Dragoon.  Saloon. 

Flagon,  Million.  Pennon.  Glutton. 

Clarion.  Galleon.  Trombone.  Truncheon, 

(i)  Augmentatives  are  the  opposite  of  diminutives.  Contrast  balloon  and  ballot ; 
galleon  and  galliot  (a  small  galley). 

(ii)  A  balloon  is  a  large  ball ;  a  cartoon  a  big  carte  ;  a  dragoon  a  large  dragon ; 
a  saloon  a  large  hall  (salle);  flagon  (O.  Fr.  flascon),  a  large  flask;  million,  a  big 
thousand  (milh) ;  pennon,  a  large  pen  or  feather  ;  galleon,  a  large  galley ;  trom- 
hone,  a  large  trump-et ;    truncheon,  a  large  stafi"  (or  trunk)  of  office. 

22.  Cry,  (Lat.   orium),  which  appears  also  as  or,  our,  and  er,  and 
denotes  place,  as  in — 

Auditory.  Dormitory.  Refectory.  Lavatory. 

Mirror.  Parlour.  Dormer.  Manger. 

(i)  Mirror  Is  contracted  by  the  French  from  miratorium ;  parlour  from  par' 
laioritim;  manger  from  manducatorium=the  eating-place.  Dormer  is  short 
for  dormitory,  from  dormitorium. 

23.  Our  (Lat.  or ;  Fr.  eur),  forms  abstract  or  collective  nouns,  as 
in — 

Ardour.  Clamour.  Honour.  Savour. 

(i)  The  ending  resumes  its  French  form  in  grandeur. 
(ii)  It  forms  a  hybrid  in  behaviour. 

24.  Or  or  our  (Lat.  orem  ;  Fr.  eur)  denotes  an  agent,  as  in — 

Actor.  Governor.  Emperor  Saviour, 

(i)  This  ending  is  disguised  in  interpreter,  labourer,  preacher,  etc. 
(ii)  A  large  number  of  nouns  which  used  to  end  in  our  or  or,  took  er  throngh 
the  influence  of  the  English  suffix  er.    They  were  "  attracted  "  into  that  form. 


X38  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

25.  T  (Lat.  tus — the  ending  of  the  past  participle)  indicates  a  completed 
act,  as  in  — 

Act.  Fact.  Joint.  Suit. 

(i)  The  t  in  Latin  has  the  same  origin  and  performs  the  same  function  as  the  d 
in  English  (as  in  dead,  finished,  and  other  past  participles,  etc.) 

(ii)  The  ending  is  disguised  in  feat,  which  is  a  doublet  of  fact,  in  fruit  (Lat. 
fruct-us),  comfit  (=confect),  counterfeit  (  —  contrafact-um). 

26.  Ter  (Lat.  ter)  denotes  a  person,  as  in — 

Master  (contracted  from  magister).  Minister. 

(i)  Magister  comes  from  magis,  more,  which  contains  the  root  of  magnus,  great  | 
minister  from  minus,  less. 

27.  Tery  (Lat.  terlum)  denotes  condition,  as  in — 

Mastery.  Ministry. 

28.  Trix  (Lat,  trix)  denotes  a  female  agent,  as  in — 

Executrix.  Improvisatrix.  Testatrix, 

(i)  This  ending  is  disguised  in  empress  (Fr.  impiratrice  from  Lat.  imperatrix)  ; 
and  ift  nurse  (Fr.  nourrice,  Lat.  nutrix). 

29.  Tude  (Lat.  tudinem),  denotes  condition,  as  in — 

Altitude.  Beatitude.  Fortitude.  Multitude, 

(i)  In  custom,  from  Lat.  consuetudinem,  the  ending  is  disguised. 

30.  Ty  (Lat.  tatem ;  Fr.  te)  makes  abstract  nouns,  as  in — 

Bounty.  Charity.  Cruelty.  Poverty. 

Captivity.  Frailty.  Fealty.  Vanity, 

(i)  Bounty  (bontc),  poverty  (pauvrete),  frailty,  and  feaCty  come,  not  directly 
from  Latin,  but  through  French. 


m- 


31.  Ure  (Lat.  ura)  denotes  an  action,  or  the  result  of  an  action,  as 

Aperture.  Cincture.  Measure.  Picture. 

32.  Y  (Lat.  ia ;  Fr.  ie)  denotes  condition  or  faculty,  as  in — 

Company.  Family.  Fury.  Victory, 

(i)  This  sufRx  unites  easily  with  English  words  in  er— as  bakery,  fishery,  rob- 
bery, etc. 
(ii)  It  stands  for  Lat.  ium  in  augury,  remedy,  study,  stibsidy,  etc. 
(iii)  It  represents  the  Lat.  ending  atus  in  attorney,  deputy,  ally,  quarry. 

24.  The  Latin  (or  French)  suffixes  employed  in  our  language 
to  make  Adjectives  are  very  useful.  The  following  are  the 
chief 

Latin  SufB.xes  for  Adjectives. 

1.  Aceous  (Lat.  aceus)  =  made  of,  as  in — 

Argillaceous  (clayey).  Farinaceous  (floury). 


SUFFIXES.  139 

2.  Al  (Lat.  aiis)  =  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Legal.  Regal.  Loyal.  Royal. 

(i)  Loyal  and  royal  are  the  same  words  as  legal  and  regal;  but,  in  passing 
through  French,  tlie  hard  g  has  been  refined  into  a  y. 

3.  An,  ane,  or  ain  (Lat.  anus  aud  aneus)  =  connected  with,  as  in — 

Certain.         Human  {homo).         Humane.         Pagan  {^mgus,  a 

district). 

(i)  This  ending  disguises  itself  in  mizzen  (medianus) ;  in  surgeon  (chirurgiamis) ; 
and  in  sexton  (contracted  from  sacristaii). 

(ii)  In  champaign  (level),  and  foreign  (foraneus),  this  ending  greatly  disguises 
itself.  In  strange  (extraneus),  still  more.  All  have  been  strongly  iuiluenced  iu 
their  passage  through  the  French. 

4.  Ant,  ent  (Lat.  antem,  entem,  ace.  of  pres,  part.),  as  in — 

Current  (curro,  I  run).         Distant.        President.        Discordant. 

5.  Ar  (Lat.  aris)  which  appears  also  as  er  =  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Regular.  Singular.  Secular.  Premier, 

(i)  Premier  (Lat.  primarius),  has  received  its  present  spelling  by  passing 
through  French. 

6.  Ary   (Lat.   S,rius),   which  also  takes  the  secondary  formations  of 
arious  and  arian  =  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Contrary.  Necessary.  Gregarious.  Agrarian. 

7.  Atic  (Lat.  aticus)  =  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Aquatic.  Fanatic  (fanum).  Lunatic. 

8.  Able,  ible,   ble   (Lat.   abilis,   gbilis,   ibilis)  =  capable  of  being, 
as  in — 

Amiable.  Culpable.  Flexible.  Movable. 

(i)  FeeNe  (Lat.  Jlebilis,  worthy  of  being  wept  over),  comes  to  us  through  the 
O.  Fr.  JloiNe. 

(ii)  This  suffix  unites  easily  with  English  roots  to  form  hybrids,  like  eatable, 
drinlcable,  teachable,  gullible.     Carlyle  has  also  doable. 

9.  Pie,  ble  (Lat.  plex,  from  plico,  I  fold)  =  the  English  suffix — fold, 
as  in — 

Simple  {  =  onefold).  Doubla  Triple.  Treble. 

10.  Esque  (Lat.  iscus  ;  Fr.  esque)  =  partaking  of,  as  in — 

Burlesque.  Grotesque  [grotto).  Picturesque. 

(i)  This  ending  is  disguised  in  morris  (dance) = Mar esco  (or  Moorish). 

11.  Ic  (Lat.  ions)  =  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Gigantic.  Metallic.  Public  {popuhis).  Rustic, 

(i)  Thifl  ending  is  disguised  in  imdigo  (from  Indicut  [colour]  =  th«  Indian 
colour.) 


140  GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

12.  Id  (Lat.  Idus)  =  having  the  quality  of,  as  in — 

Acid.  Frigid.  Limpid.  Morbid. 

13.  He,  il  (Lat.  His),  often  used  as  a,  passive  suffix,  as  in — 

Docile.  Fragile.  Mobile.  Civil. 

(i)  Fragile,  in  passing  through  French,  lost  the  gr— which  was  always  hard-^ 
and  became /raii. 

(ii)  The  suffix  He  is  disguised  in  gentle  and  suhtle. 

(iii)  Gentile,  gentle,  and  genteel,  are  all  different  forms  of  the  same  word. 

(iv)  Kennel  (  =  canile)  is  really  an  adjective  from  canis. 

14.  Ine  (Lat.  Inus)  =  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Canine.  Crystalline.  Divine.  Saline. 

(i)  In  marine,  the  ending,  by  passing  through  French,  has  acquired  a  French 
pronunciation. 

15.  Ive  (Lat.  Ivus)  =  inclined  to,  as  in — 

Abusive.  Active.  Fugitive.  Plaintive. 

(i)  This  ending  appears  also  as  iff,  by  passing  through  French,  as  in  caitiff 
(=  captivus);  and  in  the  nouns  plaintiff  and  bailiff. 

(ii)  It  also  disguises  itself  as  a  y  in  hasty,  jolly,  testy,  which  in  O.  Fr.  were 
Jiastif,  jollif,  testif{=  heady). 

(iii)  It  unites  with  the  English  word  talk  to  form  the  hybrid  talkative. 

16.  Lent  (Lat.  lentus)  =  full  of,  as  in — 

Corpulent.        Fraudulent.        Opulent  (opes).        Violent  {vis). 

17.  Ory  (Lat.  orius)  =  full  of,  as  in — 

Amatory.  Admonitory.  Illusory. 

18.  Ose,  ous  (Lat.  osus)  =  full  of,  as  in — 

Bellicose.  Grandiose.  Verbose.  Curious, 

(i)  The  form  in  ous  has  been  influenced  by  the  French  ending  eux. 

19.  Ous  (Lat.  us)  =  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Anxious.  Assiduous.  Ingenuous.  Omnivorous. 

(i)  It  unites  with  English  words  to  form  the  hybrids  wondrous,  boisterous, 
righteous  (which  is  an  imitative  corruption  of  the  O.E.  rihtwls). 

20.  XJnd  (Lat.  undus)  =  full  of,  as  in — 

Jocund.  Moribund.  Rotund. 

(i)  Rotund  has  been  shortened  into  round.  Second  is,  through  French,  from 
Lat.  secxcndus  (from  sequor,  I  follow) — the  number  that  follows  the  first.  Ventut 
aecundus  is  a  favourable  wind,  or  a  "wind  thsit  follows  fast." 

(ii)  This  ending  is  slightly  modified  in  vagabond  and  second. 

21.  Ulous  (Lat.  tilus)  =  full  of,  as  in — 

Querulous  (full  of  complaint).  Sedulous. 


SUFFIXES.  141 

25.  The  following  are  the  chief 

Latin  SufB.xes  for  Verbs. 

1.  Ate  (Lat.  atiim,  supine),  as  in — 

Complicate.  Dilate.  Relate.  Supplicate. 

(i)  Assassinate  (from  the  Arabic  hashish,  a  preparation  of  Indian  hemp,  whose 
effects  are  similar  to  those  of  opium)  is  a  hybrid. 

2.  Esce  (Lat.  esco),  a  frequentative  suffix,  as  in — 

Coalesce  (to  grow  together).  Effervesce  (to  boil  up). 

3.  Fy  (Lat.  fico  ;  Fr.  fie — from  Lat.  facio)  =  to  make,  as  in — 

Beautify.  Magnify.  Signify. 

4.  Ish  (Fr.  iss)  =  to  make,  as  in — 

Admonish.  Establish.  Finish.  Nourish. 

5.  Ete,  ite,  t  (Lat.  itum,  etum,  turn),  with  an  active  function,  as  in — 

Complete.  Delete.  Expedite.  Connect. 

26.  The  suffixes  which  the  English  language  has  adopted 
from  Greek  are  not  numerous  ;  but  some  of  them  are  very  useful. 
Most  of  them  are  employed  to  make  nouns.  The  following  are 
the  chief 

Greek  Suffixes. 

1.  Y  (Gr.  la),  makes  abstract  nouns,  as  in — 

Melancholy.         Monarchy.  Necromancy.         Philosophy, 

(i)  Fancy  is  a  compressed  form  of  phantasy  (phantasia  =  imagination). 
(ii)  In  dyspepsia  and  hydrophobia  (late  introduced  words)  the  full  Greek  suffix 
is  retained. 

2.  Ic  (Gr.  t/c(^s)=  belonging  to,  as  in — 

Aromatic.  Barbaric,  Frantic.  Graphic. 

Arithmetic.  Schismatic.  Logic.  Music. 

(i)  With  the  addition  of  the  Latin  alis,  adjectives  are  formed  from  some  of 
these  words,  as  logical,  musical,  etc. 

(ii)  The  plural  form  of  some  adjectives  also  makes  nouns  of  them,  as  in  politics, 
ethics,  physics.     In  Ireland  we  find  also  logics. 

(iii)  Arithmetic,  logic,  and  music  are  from  Greek  nouns  ending  in  ike. 

3.  Sis  (Gr.  (Tis)  =  action,  as  in — 

Analysis.  Emphasis.  Genesis.  Synthesis. 

(i)  In  the  following  words  sis  has  become  sy,  as  hypocrisy,  poesy,  palsy  (short 
for  paralysis). 
(ii)  In  the  following  the  is  has  dropped  away  altogether— eWi^Jse,  p?Mse. 


142  GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

4.  Ma  or  m  (Gr.  /to),  passive  sufifix,  as  in — 

Diorama.         Dogma.  Drama  {something  done).    SchisnL 

Baptism.  Barbarism.      Despotism.  Egotism. 

(i)  In  diadem  and  system  the  a  has  dropped  off;  in  scheme  and  theme  it  has 
been  changed  into  an  e. 

(ii)  Schism  comes  from   schizo,  I  cut. 

(iii)  This  ending  unites  freely  with  Latin  words  to  form  hybrids,  as  in  deism, 
mannerism,  purism,  provincialism,  vulgarism,  etc. 

5.  St  (Gr.  (TTr;$)  =  agent,  as  in — 

Baptist.  Botanist.  Iconoclast  (image -breaker). 

(i)  This  suffix  has  become  a  very  useful  one,  and  is  largely  employed.  It  forms 
numerous  hybrids  with  words  of  Latin  origin,  as  aholitionist,  excursio7iist,  educa- 
tionist, journalist,  protectionist,  jurist,  socialist,  specioMst,  royalist. 

6.  T  or  te  (Gr.  ttjs)  =  agent,  as  in — 

Comet.  Planet.  Poet.  Apostate. 

(i)  Comet  means  a  long-haired  star;  planet,  a  wanderer;  poet,  a  maTcer  (in 
Northern  English  poets  called  themselves  "  Makkers  ") ;  an  apostate,  a  person 
who  has  fallen  aivay. 

(ii)  This  ending  is  also  found  in  the  form  of  ot  and  it,  as  in  idiot,  patriot, 
Tiermit. 

7.  Ter  or  tre  (Gr.  rpov),  denotes  an  Instrument  or  place,  as  in — 

Metre.  Centre.  Theatre. 

8.  Isk  (Gr.  la-Kos),  a  diminutive,  as  in — 

Asterisk  (a  little  star).  Obelisk  (a  small  spit). 

9.  Ize  or  ise  (Gr.  iCoc)  makes  factitive  verbs,  as  in — 

Baptise.  Criticise.  Judaize.  Anglicize. 

(i)  This  ending  combines  with  Latin  words  to  form  the  hybrids  minimise, 
realise,  etc. 


WORD  -  BRANCHING. 


When    our   language   was   young    and   uninfluenced  by   other 

languages,  it  had  the  power  of  growing  words.      These  words, 

like   plants,    grew   from   a   root ;    and 

all  the  words  that  grew  from  the  same 

root    had    a    family    likeness.       Thus 

byrn-an,   the    old   word  for   to   hurn^ 

gave  us  briiQstone,  brown  (which  is 

the     hurnt     colour),     brunt,     brand, 

brandy,    and    brindle.        These    we 

might   represent  to  ourselves,   on   the 

blackboard,  as  growing  in  this  way. 

But,  unfortunately,  we  soon  lost  this 
power.     From  the  time  when  the  Kor- 

mans  came  into  this  country  in  1066,  the  language  became  less 
and  less  capable  of  growing  its  own  words.  Instead  of  produc- 
ing a  new  word,  we  fell  into  the  habit  of  simply  taking  an  old 
and  ready-made  word  from  French,  or  from  Latin,  or  from 
Greek,  and  giving  it  a  place  in  the  language.  Instead  of  the 
Old  English  word  fairhood,  we  imported  the  French  word 
beauty ;  instead  of  forewit,  we  adopted  the  Latin  word  cau- 
tion ;  instead  of  licherest,  we  took  the  Greek  word  cemetery. 
And  so  it  came  about  that  in  course  of  time  we  lost  the  power 
of  growing  our  own  new  words.  The  Greek  word  asterisk 
has  prevented  our  making  the  word  starkin ;  the  Greek  name 
astronomy  has  kept  out  star-craft  ;_^  the  Latin  word  omnibus 
lias  stopped  our  even  thinking  of  folkwain ;  and  the  name 
vocabulary  is  much  more  familiar  to  our  ears  than  word- 
hoard.      Indeed,    so    strange   have    some   of   our   own   native 


144 


GRAMMAR  OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


English  words  become  to  us,  that  sentences  composed  entirely 
of  English  words  are  hardly  intelligible;  and,  to  make  them 
quickly  intelligible,  we  have  to  translate  some  of  the  English 
words  into  Greek  or  into  Latin.  It  is  well,  however,  for  us  to 
become  acquainted  with  those  pure  English  words  which  grew 
upon  our  own  native  roots,  and  which  owe  nothing  whatever 
to  other  languages.  For  they  are  the  purest,  the  simplest,  the 
most  homely  and  the  most  genuine  part  of  our  language ;  and 
from  them  we  can  get  a  much  better  idea  of  what  our  language 
once  was  than  we  can  from  its  present  very  mixed  condition. 
The  following  are  the  most  important 


ENGLISH  ROOTS  AND  BRANCHES  (OR  DERIVATIONS). 


Bac-an,  to  bake— baker,  baxter  i  (a  woman 
baker),  batch. 

Ban-a,  a  slayer— bane,  baneful ;  ratsbane, 
henbane. 

Beat-an,  to  strike— beat ;  beetle  (a  wooden 
bat  for  beating  clothes). 

Beorg-an,  to  shelter — burrow,  bury  (noun 
in  Canterbury  —  and  verb) ;  burgh, 
burgher  ;  burglar  (a  house-robber) ;  har- 
bour, Cold  Harbour ;  2  harbinger  (a  per- 
son sent  on  in  front  to  procure  lodg- 
ings) ;  borrow  (to  raise  money  on  secur- 
ity). 

Ber-an,  to  bear — bear,  bier,  bairn ;  birth, 
berth ;  burden. 

Bet-an,  to  make  good— better,  best ;  boot 
(in  "to  boot"  =  "to  the  good"),  boot- 
less. 

Bidd-an,  to  pray— bedesman ;  bead  ("to 
bid    one's   beads"    was   to   say    one's 


prayers  ;  and  these  were  marked  ofif  by 
small  round  balls  of  wood  or  glass — now 
called  beads— strung  upon  a  string), 

Bind-an,  to  bind— band,  bond,  bondage; 
bundle  ;  woodbine  ;  hindiveed. 

Bit-an,  to  bite— bit ;  beetle;  bait;  bitter. 

Bla'w-an,  to  puff- bladder,  blain  (chil- 
blain), blast,  blaze  (to  proclaim),  blazon 
(a  proclamation),  blare  (of  a  trumpet); 
blister. 

Blow-an,  to  blossom— blow  (said  of  flow- 
ers) ;  bloom,  blossom ;  blood,  blade ; 
blowsy. 

Brec-an,  to  break— break,  breakers ;  brake, 
bracken  ;  breach,  brick ;  break  -fast  ; 
bray  (where  the  hard  guttural  has  been 
absorbed). 

Breow-an,  to  brew— brew,  brewer;  broth. 

Bug-an,  to  bend— bow,  elbow ;  3  bough  ; 
bight;  buxom  (O.E.  bocsum,  flexible  or 


1  Compare  hrewster,  a  woman  brewer,  spinster,  wehster,  and  others.  Brewster,  Beater, 
and  Webster  are  now  only  used  as  proper  names. 

2  Cold  Harbour  was  the  name  given  to  an  inn  which  provided  merely  shelter  without 
provisions.  There  are  numerous  places  of  this  name  in  England.  Many  of  them  stand 
on  the  great  Roman  roads ;  and  they  were  chiefly  the  rains  of  Roman  villas  used  by 
travellers  who  carried  their  own  bedding  and  provisions.  See  Isaac  Taylor's  '  Words 
and  Places,'  p.  256. 

3  Elbow = ell-bow.    The  ell  was  the  forepart  of  the  arm. 


WORD-BRANCHING. 


145 


obedient).    The  hard  g  in  higan  appears 

as  a  w  in  how,  as  a  gh  in  bough,  as  a  y 

in  bay,  as  a  k  in  buxom ^buk-som. 
Byrn-an,  to  burn— burn,  brown ;  brunt 

brimstone;  brand,  brandy;  brindled. 
Cat,  a  cat— catkin;  kitten,  kitling  ;  cater 

pillar  (the  hairy  cat,  from  Lat.  pilosus 

hairy),  caterwaul. 
Ceapi-an,  to  buy — cheap,  cheapen  ;  chop 

(to  exchange) ;  a  chopping  sea ;  chap 

chapman ;   chaffer ;    Eastcheap,   Cheajj 

side,  Chepstow  (  =  the  market  stow  or 

place),  Chippenham. 1 
Cenn-au,  to  produce — kin,  kind,  kindred 

kindly ;  kindle. 
Ceow-an,    to  chew  —  chew;    cheek;  jaw 

(=chaw);  jowl  ;  chaw-bacon,-  cud(=the 

chewed).     Compare  seethe  and  suds. 
Cleov-an,  to  split — cleave,  cleaver ;  cleft. 
Clifl-an,  to  stick  to — cleave. 
Cnaw-an,   to  know — ken,   know ;   know- 
ledge. 
Cnotta,  a  knot— knot,  knit. 
Cunn-an,  to  know  or  to  be  able — can,  con ; 

cunning  ;  uncouth. 
Cweth-an,  to  say — quoth  ;  bequeath. 
Cwic,  alive — quick,  quicken;   quickset; 

qaicMime;    quicksilver;    to   cut   to  .the 

quick. 
DAel-an,  to  divide— deal  (verb  and  noun), 

dole  ;  dale,  dell  (the  original  sense  being 

cleft,  or  separated). 
Dem-an,  to  judge — deem,  doom  ;  demp- 

ster  (the  name  for  a  judge  in  the  Isle  of 

Man);  doomsday;  kingdom. 
De6r,  dear— dearth  ;  darling ;  endear. 
Doan,  to  act— do;  don,  doff,  dup(=do  up 

or  op-en) ;  dout  ( =  do  out  or  put  out) ; 

deed.     Compare  mow,  mead ;  sow,  seed. 
Drag -an,    to    draw  — drag,    draw,    dray 

(three  forms  of  the  same  word) ;  draft 

(draught) ;     drain  ;     dredge  ;     draggle ; 

drawl. 
Drif-an,  to  push — drive;    drove;   drift, 

adrift. 
Drige,  dry- dry  (verb  and  adj.) ;  drought ; 

drugs  (originally  dried  plants). 


Drinc-an,  to  soak— drink ;  drench  (to 
make  to  drink).  Compare  sit,  set ;  fall 
fell,  etc. 

Drip -an,  to  drip— drip,  drop,  droop; 
dribble,  driblet. 

Dug-an,  to  be  good  for— do  (in  "That 
will  do");  doughty. 

Eac,  also— eke  (verb  and  adv.) ;  ekename 
(which  became  a  nickname ;  the  n  hav- 
ing dropped  from  the  article  and  clung 
to  the  noun). 

Eage,  eye — Egbert  (  =  bright-eyed)  ;  daisy 
(  —  day's  eye);  window  (  =  wind-eye). 

Eri-an,  to  plough— ear  (the  old  word  for 
plough);  earth  (  =  the  ploughed). 

Far -an,  to  go  or  travel — far,  fare;  welfare, 
fieldfare,  thoroughfare  ;  ferry  ;  ford. 

Feng-an,  to  catch — fang,  finger,  new- 
fangled (catching  eagerly  after  new 
things). 

Feower,  four— farthing;  firkin;  fourteen; 
forty. 

Fleog-an,  to  flee— fly,  flight;  flea;  fledged. 

Fle<5t-an,  to  float— fleet  (noun,  verb,  and" 
adj.) ;  float ;  ice-floe  ;  afloat ;  floatsam  2 
(things  found  floating  on  the  water  after 
a  wreck). 

F6d-a,  food— feed  ;  food,  fodder,  foster ; 
fath-er;  forage  (  =  fodderage),  forager; 
foray  (an  excursion  to  get  food). 

Fre6n,  to  love — freond  =  friend  (the  pres. 
part.)  a  lover  ;  Fri-day  (the  day  of  Friya, 
the  goddess  of  love) ;  friendship,  etc. 

Gal-an,  to  sing — gale,  yell ;  nightingale.^ 

Gang  -  an.  to  go  —  gang,  gangway  ;  ago. 
(The  words  gate  and  gait  do  not  come 
from  this  verb,  but  from  get.) 

Gnag-an,  to  bite — gnaw  (the  g  has  be- 
come a  lo) ;  nag  (to  tease). 

Graf- an,  to  dig  or  cut — grave,  groove, 
grove  (the  original  sense  was  a  lane  cut 
through  trees) ;  graft,  engraft ;  engrave, 
engraver. 

Grip -an,  to  seize— grip,  gripe;  grasp; 
grab ;  grope. 

Gyrd-an,  to  surround— gird,  girdle ;  gar- 
den, yard,  vineyard,  hopyard. 


1  The  same  root  is  found  in  the  Scotch  Kippen  and  the  Danish  Copenhagen='!&eT- 
chants'  Haven. 

2  "Flotsam  and  jetsam"  mean  the  floating  things  and  the  things  thrown  over- 
board from  a  ship.  Jetsam  comes  from  Old  Fr.  jetter,  to  throw.  (Hence  also  '^jet  of 
water"  ;  jetty,  etc.     Jetsam  is  a  hybrid — sam  being  a  Scandinavian  suffix. 

3  The  n  in  nightingale  is  no  part  of  the  word.  It  is  intrusive  and  non-organic ;  as 
it  also  is  in  passenger,  messenger,  porringer,  etc. 


146 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


Hael-an,  to.  heal— hale  ;  holy,  hallow, 
All -hallows;  health;  hail;  whole,i 
wholesome;  wassail  (  =  Waes  hal  !  =  Be 
whole !) 

Hebb-an,  to  raise— heave,  heave-offering; 
heavy  (=that  requires  much  heaving); 
heaven. 

Hlaf,  bread — loaf;  lord  (hlaford  =  loaf- 
ward)  ;  lady  (  =  hlaf-dige,  from  dig-an,  to 
knead);  Lammas  (  =  Loaf-mass,  Aug.  1  ; 
a  loaf  was  offered  on  this  day  as  the 
offering  of  the  first-fruits). 

Ledc,  a  leek — house -leek;  garlic;  hem- 
lock. 

Licg-an,  to  lie— lie;  lay,  layer;  lair; 
outlay. 

Loda,  a  guide — lead  (the  verb) ;  lode-star, 
lode-stone  (also  written  loadstone). 

Mag-an,  to  be  able — may,  main  (in  "might 
and  main  "'),  might,  mighty. 

Mang,  a  mixture  —  a-mong ;  mongrel ; 
mingle. 

Maw-an,  to  cut — mow  ;  math,  aftermath  ; 
mead,  meadow  (the  places  where  grass  is 
mowed). 

M6n-a,  the  moon — month;  moonshine. 
(This  word  comes  from  a  very  old  root, 
ma,  to  measure.  Our  Saxon  forefathers 
measured  by  moons  and  by  nights,  as 
we  see  in  the  words  fortnight,  se'nnight.) 

Naeddr8,  a  snake  — adder.  The  n  has 
dropped  off  from  the  word,  and  has  ad- 
hered to  the  article.  Compare  apron, 
from  naperon  (compare  with  napkin, 
napery) ;  umpire,  from  numpire.  The 
opposite  example  of  the  n  leaving  the 
article  and  adhering  to  the  noun,  is 
found  in  nag,  from  an  ag ;  nickname 
from  an  ekename. 

Nasn,  a  nose — nose,  naze,  ness  (all  three 
different  forms  of  the  same  word,  and 
found  in  the  Naze,  Sheerness,  etc.) ; 
nostril  =  nose -thirl  (from  thirlian,  to 
bore  a  hole),  nozzle ;  nosegay. 

Penn-an,  to  shut  up  or  enclose — pen,  pin 
(two  forms  of  the  same  word);  pound, 
pond  (two  forms  of  the  same  word) ; 
impound. 

Pic,  a  point— pike,  peak  (two  forms  of  the 
same  word) ;  pickets  (stakes  driven  into 
the  ground  to  tether  horses  to) ;  pike, 
pickerel  (the  fish) ;  peck,  pecker. 

Rded-an,  to  read  or  guess — rede  (advice) ; 


riddle  ;  Etheh-ed  (  =  noble  in  counsel); 
Unready  (  =  Unrede,  without  counsel); 
Mildred  (  =  mild  in  counsel). 

Re^f,  clothing,  spoil ;  redfi-an,  to  rob— rob, 
robber  ;  reave,  bereave ;  reever ;  robe. 

Ripe,  ripe — reap  (to  gather  what  is  ripe). 

Scdd-an,  to  divide — shed  (to  part  the 
hair);  watershed. 

Sceap-an,  to  form  or  fashion — shape ;  ship 
(the  suffix  in  fi-iendship,  etc.);  scape 
(the  suffix  in  landscajx,  etc.) 

Sce6t-an,  to  throw — shoot,  shot,  shut 
(  =  to  shoot  the  bolt  of  the  door);  sheet 
(that  which  is  thrown  over  a  bed) ;  shut- 
ter, shuttle ;  scud. 

Sc^r-an,  to  cut— shear,  share,  sheer,  shire, 
shore  (all  forms  of  the  same  word) ;  scar, 
scare ;  score  (the  twentieth  notch  in 
the  tally,  and  made  larger  than  the 
others) ;  scarify,  sharp ;  short,  shirt, 
skirt  (three  forms  of  the  same  word) ; 
shred,  ^w/sherd  (the  same  word,  with 
the  r  transposed);  sheriff  ( =  scir-gerefa, 
reeve  of  the  shire).  The  soft  form  sh 
belongs  to  the  southern  English  dia- 
lects :  the  hard  forms,  sc  and  sk,  to 
the  northern. 

Scuf-an,  to  push — shove,  shovel,  shufile ; 
scuffie ;  sheaf;  scoop. 

Sett-an,  to  set,  or  make  sit — set,  seat ; 
settle,  saddle  ;  Somerset,  Dorset. 

Slag-an,  to  strike — slay  (the  hard  g  has 
been  refined  into  a  y),  slaughter ;  slog, 
sledge  (in  sledge-hammer). 

Slip-an,  to  slip — slop ;  slipper,  sleeve  (into 
which  the  arm  is  slipped). 

Snic-an,  to  crawl  —  sneak,  snake,  snail 
(here  the  hard  guttural  has  been  refined 
away). 

Spell,  a  story  or  message— spell  (=to  give 
an  account  of  or  tell  the  story  of  the 
letters  in  a  word) ;  spell-bound  ;  gosjtel 
(  =  God's  spell). 

Stearc,  stiff— stark ;  strong  (a  nasalised 
form  of  stark) ;  string  (that  which  is 
strongly  twisted) ;  strength  ;  strangle. 

Stede,  a  place— stead,  instead,  homestead, 
farm-steading  ;  steady  ;  steadfast ;  be- 
stead ;  Hampstead. 

Stic'i-an,  to  stick — stick,  stitch  (two  forms 
of  the  same  w^ord),  stake,  stock,  stock- 
ade ;  stock-dove ;  stock-fish  (fish  dried 
to  keep  in  stock);  stock-still. 


1  The  w  in  whole  is  intrusive  and  non-organic,  as  in  whoop,  and  in  wun  (=one,  so 
pronounced,  but  not  so  written).  Before  the  year  1500  u-hole  was  always  written  hole; 
and  in  this  form  it  is  seen  to  be  a  doublet  of  hale.    Holy  is  simply  hole+y. 


Ji^wii 


WORD -BRANCHING. 


147 


Stig-an,  to  climb— stair;  stile;  stirrup 
(  =  stigrdp,  or  rope  for  rising  into  tlie 
saddle);  sty  (in  pig-sty). 

Stow,  a  place— bestow ;  stowage,  stowa- 
way; Chepstow  (  =  the  place  where  a 
cheap  or  market  is  held);  Bristol  (the 
1  and  w  being  interchangeable). 

Stjh-'an,  to  direct — steer,  stern  ;  steerage. 

Sundri-an,  to  part  —  sunder  ;  sundry  ; 
asunder.     (Compare  sever  and  several.) 

Sweri-an,  to  declare — swear,  answer  (  = 
andswerian,  to  declare  in  opposition  or 
in  reply  to),  forswear. 

Taec-an,  to  show — teach,  teacher;  token 
(that  which  is  shown) ;  taught  (when 
the  hard  c  reappears  as  a  gh). 

Tell-an,  to  count  or  recount — tell ;  tale,^ 
talk  ;  toll ;  teller. 

Teoh-an  (or  te6n),  to  draw  —  tow,  tug 
(two  forms  of  the  same  word,  the  hard 
guttural  having  been  preserved  in  the 
one)  ;  wanton  (  =  without  right  upbring- 
ing). Compare  wanhope  =  despair  ; 
wantrust  =  mistrust. 

Thaec,  a  roof — thatch  ;  deck. 

Tred-an,  to  walk — tread,  treadle;  trade; 
tradesman,  trade-win. 

Truwa,  good  faith— true,  truth,  troth,  be- 
troth. 

Tw^,  two — two,  twin,  twain;  twelve  (= 
two  -f  lufan,  ten) ;  twenty ;  between  ; 
twig ;  twiddle ;  twine,  twist,  etc. 


■Waci-an,  to  be  on  one's  guard— wake, 
watch  (two  forms  of  the  same  word); 
awake,  wakeful. 

"Wad -an,  to  go — wade;  waddle;  Watling 
Street  (the  road  of  the  pilgrims).  The 
Eng.  word  wade  is  of  the  same  origin  as 
the  Lat.  vade  in  evade,  invade,  etc. 

"Wana,  a  deficiency — wan,  wane;  want, 
wanton  ;  wanhope  (the  old  word  for  des- 
pair). 

Wef-an,  to  weave — weave,  weaver ;  web, 
Webster  (a  woman-weaver) ;  cobweb  ; 
woof,  weft  (v,  b,  and  f,  being  all  labials). 

Werre,  war — warfare  (faring  or  going  to 
war),  warlike,  warrior.  War  is  from  the 
Teutonic  base  wars,  to  twist.  Worse 
is  a  cognate  word,  in  which  the  s 
is  part  of  the  root  or  base. 

Wit-an,  to  know— wit,  to  wit ;  wise,  wis- 
dom ;  wistful ;  witness  ;  Witena-gemote 
(  =  the  Meeting  of  the  Wise);  y-wis  (the 
past  participle,  wrongly  written  I 
v)is). 

Wraest-an,  to  wrest  —  wrest,  wrestle; 
wrist. 

Wring-an,  to  force — wring,  wrong  (that 
which  is  wrung  out  of  the  right  course). 

Wyrc-an,  to  work— work,  wright  (the  r 
shifts  its  place). 

Wyrt,  a  herb  or  plant— wort ;  orchard  (= 
wort -yard);  wart  (on  the  skin);  St 
John's  wort,  etc. 


LATIN  ROOTS. 


Those  words  with  (F)  after  them  have  not  come  to  us  directly  from  Latin  ; 
but,  indirectly,  through  French. 


Acer(acris),  sharp;  acrid,  acrimony,  vine- 
gar (sharp  wine,  F.),  eager  (F.) 

.^des,  a  building ;  edifice,  edify. 

.^quus,  equal;  equality,  equator,  equi- 
nox, equity,  adequate,  iniquity. 

Ager,  afield;  agriculture,  agrarian,  pere- 
grinate. 


Ago  (actum),  I  do,  act;  act,  agent,  agile, 
agitate,  cogent. 

Alo,  /  nourish ;  aliment,  alimony. 

Alter,  the  other  of  two ;  alternation,  sub- 
altern, altercation. 

Altus,  high-;  altitude,  exalt,  alto  (It.), 
altar. 


1  "And  every  shepherd  tells  his  tale  (=counts  his  sheep) 
Under  the  hawthorn  in  the  dale." — Milton:  II  PenserosO' 


148 


GRAMMAR   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


Ambulo,  I  walk;  amble,  perambulator. 

Amo,  I  love;  amity,  amorous,  amiable  (F.), 
inimical. 

Angulus,  a  corner;  angle,  triangle,  quad- 
rangle. 

Anima,  life;  animal,  animate,  animation. 

Animus,  mind;  magnanimity,  equan- 
imity, unanimous,  animadvert. 

Annus,  a  year;  annual,  perennial,  bien- 
nial, anniversary. 

Aperio  (apertum),  I  open;  aperient,  aper- 
ture, April  (the  opening  month). 

Appello,  I  call;  appeal,  appellation,  ap- 
pellant, peal  (of  bells). 

Aqua,  water ;  aqueduct,  aquatic,  aqueous, 
aquarium. 

Arcus,  a  how ;  arch,  arc,  arcade  (Fr.  It.) 

Ardeo,  I  turn;  ardent,  ardour,  arson 
(F.) 

Ars  (artis),  art;  artist,  artisan  (F.),  arti- 
fice, inert. 

Audio,  I  hear;  audience,  audible,  audi- 
tory, 

Augeo  (auctum),  I  increase;  augment, 
author,  auctioneer. 

Barba,  a  heard;  barb,  barber,  barbel  (all 
through  F.) 

Bellum,  war;  rebel,  rebellious,  bellig- 
erent, bellicose. 

Bis,  twice;  biscuit,  bissextile,  bisect, 
bicycle. 

Brevis,  short;  brevity,  abbreviate,  brief 
(F.),  breviary,  abridge  (F.) 

Cado  (casum),  I  fall;  casiaal,  accident. 

Csedo  (cffisum),  I  cut,  kill;  precise,  exci- 
sion, decide. 

Candeo,  I  shine;  candidus,  white;  can- 
did, candidate,  candle. 

Cano  (cantum),  /  sing;  cant,  canticle, 
chant  (F.),  incantation. 

Capio  (captum),  I  take;  captive,  accept, 
reception  (F.),  capacity. 

Caput,  the  head;  capital,  captain,  cape, 
chapter  (F.) 

Caro  (carnis),  Jlesh;  carnal,  carnival,  car- 
nivorous,  carnation. 

Causa,  a  cause;  causative,  accuse  (F.), 
excuse  (F.) 

Cavus,  hollow;  cavity,  cave,  excavate, 
concave. 

Cedo  (cessum),  ^  go,  yield;  proceed  (F.), 
ancestor  (F.),  secede. 

Centrum  (Gr.  Kevrpov  =  a  point),  centre ; 
centralise,  centripetal,  eccentric. 

Centum,  a  hundred ;  century,  centurion, 
cent. 


Cerno  (cretum),  to  distinguish;  discern, 
discretion,  discreet. 

Cingo  (cinctum),  /  gird;  cincture,  suc- 
cinct, precinct. 

Cite,  I  call  or  summon;  citation,  recite 
(F.),  excite  (F.),  incite  (F.) 

Civis,  a  citizen;  city  (F.),  civic,  civil,  civ- 
ilise, civilian. 

Glamo,  I  shoiit;  claim  (F.),  clamour,  re- 
claim (F.),  proclamation. 

Clarus,  clear;  clarify,  declare,  •  clarion, 
claret  (F.) 

Claudo  (clausum),  I  shut ;  clause,  close 
(F.),  exclude,  seclusion. 

Clino,  Ihend;  incline,  decline,  recline. 

Colo  (cultum),  I  ii7Z;  cultivate,  arboricul- 
ture, agriculture. 

Cor  (cordis),  the  heart;  courage  (F.),  cor- 
dial (F.),  discord,  record. 

Corona,  a  crown;  coronet,  coroner,  coro- 
nation, corolla. 

Corpus,  the  body;  corps,  corpse  (F.),  cor- 
pulent, corporation. 

Credo,  I  believe;  credibility,  credence  (F.), 
miscreant  (F.),  creed,  creditor. 

Creo,  I  create;  create,  creation,  recrea- 
tion, creature. 

Cresco,  I  grow ;  increase,  decrease,  incre- 
ment. 

Crux  (crucis),  a  cross;  crucial,  crucifix, 
cruise  (F.). 

Cubo,  I  lie  down;  cubit,  incubate,  recum- 
bent. 

Culpa,  a  fault;  culprit,  culpable,  excul- 
pate, inculpate. 

Cura,  cure;  curate,  curator,  accurate, 
secure,  incurable. 

Curro  (cursum),  I  run;  current,  recur, 
excursion,  cursory,  course  (F.),  occur. 

Decern,  ten;  decimal,  December,  deci- 
mate. 

Dens  (dentis),  a  tooth;  dentist,  dental, 
indent,  trident. 

Deus,  God;  deity,  deify,  divine. 

Dico  (dictum),  I  say ;  verdict,  dictionary, 
dictation,  indictment,  ditto. 

Dies,  a  day  ;  diary,  diurnal,  meridian. 

Dignus,  worthy  ;  dignity,  dignify,  in- 
dignant, deign  (F.) 

Do  (datum),  I  give ;  date,  data,  donor, 
tradition. 

Doceo  (doctum),  I  teach;  docile,  doctor, 
doctrine. 

Dominus,  a  lord;  domineer,  dominion, 
dominant,  dame  (F.),  damsel  (F.), 
madame  (F.) 


WORD-BRANCHING. 


149 


Domus,  a  "house ;  domestic,  domicile. 

Donnio,  I  sleep;  dormitory,  dormant, 
dormouse. 

Duco  (ductum),  I  lead;  induct,  educa- 
tion, duke  (F.),  produce. 

Duo,  tu-o ;  dual,  duel,  duplex,  double  (F.) 

Emo  (emptura),  I  iuy ;  exemption,  re- 
deem. 

Eg  (itum),  I  go ;  exit,  transit,  circuit  (F.), 
ambition,  perish  (F.) 

Erro,  I  wander ;  err,  error,  aberration. 

Facies,  a  face;  facial,  facet  (F.),  super- 
ficial. 

Facio  (factum),  I  raake;  manufacture, 
factor,  faction,  fashion  (F.),  feature 
(F.),  fact,  feat(F.) 

Fero  (latum),  I  carry;  infer,  suffer,  refer- 
ence, difference ;  relative,  con-elative. 

Fide,  I  trust ;  confide,  diffident,  infidel. 

Filum,  a  thread;  file,  defile,  profile,  fillet 
(F.) 

Finis,  the  end;  finish,  finite,  infinite,  in- 
finitive. 

YirmvLS,  firm  ;  infirm,  affirm,  confirm. 

Flecto  (flexum),  I  bend;  inflect,  inflection, 
flexible. 

Flos  (floris),  a  flower;  floral,  flora,  flori- 
culture. 

Fluo  (fluxum),  I  flow;  fluent,  fluid,  flux, 
affluent. 

Folium,  a  leaf;  foliage,  foil  (F.),  portfolio, 
trefoil  (F.) 

Forma,  a  form;  form,  formal,  reform, 
conformity. 

Fortis,  strong ;  fortify,  fortitude,  fortress, 
force  (F.) 

Frango  (fractus),  I  hreak;  fragile  (F.), 
fragmentary,  infraction,  infringe. 

Frater,  a  brother;  fraternal,  fratricide, 
friar  (F.) 

Frons  (frontis),  the  forehead;  front,  frontal, 
frontier,  frontispiece. 

Fugio,  I  flee;  fugitive,  refugee,  subterfuge. 

Fundo  (fusum),  I  pour;  fount  (F.),  foun- 
dry, funnel,  fusible,  diffusion. 

Fundus,  the  bottom ;  foundation,  profound 
(F.),  founder. 

Gens  (gentis),  a  race,  people;  gentile, 
genteel  (F.),  gentle,  congenial. 

Gero  (gestum),  /  bear,  carry;  gesture, 
suggestion,  indigestion. 

Gradus,  a  step;  gradior  (gressus),  I  go; 
grade,  degrade,  graduate  ;  progress  (F.), 
gradient. 

Gratia,  favour,  pi.  thanks;  gratitude,  in- 
gratiate, gratis. 


Gravis,  heavy ;  grave,  gravity,  grief  (F.), 
aggrieve  (F.) 

Habeo  (habituni),  I  have;  habit,  able, 
exhibit,  prohibition. 

Hsereo  (hgesum),  I  stick;  adhere,  adher- 
ent, cohesion. 

Homo,  a  man;  homicide,  homage  (F.), 
human,  humane. 

Ignis,  fire  ;  ignite,  igneous. 

Impero,  I  command ;  imperative,  imperial, 
empire,  emperor  (F.) 

Initium,  a  beginning ;  initiate,  initial. 

Insula,  an  island;  isle,  insular,  peninsula. 

Jacio  (jectum),  I  throw;  adjective,  pro- 
ject, injection,  object,  subject. 

Judex  (judicis),  a  judge ;  judgment  (F.), 
judicial, 

Jungo  (junctum),  I  join ;  junction,  junc- 
ture, conjoin  (F.),  adjunct. 

Jus  (juris),  right;  justice  (F.),  jury,  in- 
jury. 

Labor  (lapsus),  I  glide;  lapse,  relapse, 
collapse. 

Lapis  (lapidis),  a  stone;  lapidary,  dilapi- 
dated. 

Laus  (laudis),  praise;  laud,  laudable,  laud- 
ation, allow  (F.) 

Lego  (lectum),  I  gather,  read;  collect, 
elector,  select ;  lecture  (F.),  legend, 
legible. 

Lego  (legatum),  I  send;  legate,  delegate, 
legacy. 

Levis,  light;  levity,  alleviate,  relief  (F.), 
lever,  leaven. 

Lex  (legis),  a  law ;  legal,  legislate,  legiti- 
mate. 

Liber,  free  ;  liberal,  liberty,  libertine. 

Liber,  a  book;  library,  librarian. 

Ligo,  I  bind;  ligament,  religion,  oblige 
(F.),  liable  (F.) 

Linquo  (lictum),  I  leave;  relinquish,  relict, 
relics. 

Litera,  a  letter;  literal,  literary,  litera- 
ture. 

Locus,  a  place;  local,  allocate,  dislocate, 
locomotive. 

Loquor  (locutns),  I  speak;  loquacious, 
elocution,  colloquy. 

Ludo  (lusum),  I  play ;  elude,  illusion,  in- 
terlude, ludicrous. 

Lumen,  light ;  illuminate,  luminous,  lum- 
inary. 

Luna,  the  moon;  lunar,  sublunary,  lun- 
acy. 

Luo  (lutum),  I  wash;  ablution,  dilute, 
antediluvian. 


150 


GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


Lux  (lucis),  light;  lucid,  elucidate,  pel- 
lucid. 

Magnus,  great ;  magnitude,  magnify,  mag- 
nificent, magnanimous. 

Malus,  had  :  malady,  malice  (F.),  malaria, 
malevolent. 

Maneo  (mansum),  I  remain ;  manse,  man- 
sion, permanent. 

Manus,  the  hand;  manuscript,  manual, 
manufacture,  amanuensis. 

Mare,  the  sea;  marine,  mariner,  maritime. 

Mater,  a  mother;  maternal,  matricide, 
matron,  matriculate. 

Maturus,  ripe;  mature,  immature,  pre- 
mature. 

Medius,  the  middle;  medium,  mediate, 
immediate,  Mediterranean. 

Memini,  I  remember;  memor,  mindful; 
memory,  memoir  (F.),  commemorate, 
immemorial. 

Mens  (mentis),  the  mind;  mental,  de- 
mented. 

Mergo  (mersum),  I  dip;  emerge,  immer- 
sion, emergency. 

Merx  (mercis),  goods;  merchandise  (F.), 
commerce  (F.),  merchant  (F.) 

Miles  (milites),  a  soldier;  military,  mili- 
tant, militia. 

Mirer,  I  admire;  admirable,  miracle, 
mirage  (F.) 

Mitto  (missum),  I  send;  commit,  missile, 
mission,  remittance. 

Modus,  a  measure;  mood,  modify,  accom- 
modate. 

Moneo  (monitum),  I  advise;  monition, 
monitor,  monument. 

Mens  (montis),  a  mountain;  amount  (F.), 
dismount  (F.),  promontory,  ultramon- 
tane. 

Mors  (mortis),  death ;  mortify,  mortal, 
immortality. 

Moveo  (motum),  I  move;  mobile  (F ), 
promote,  motor,  motive. 

Multus,  many;  multitude,  multiple,  mul- 
tiply. 

Munus  (muneris),  a  gift;  munificent,  re- 
munerate, municipal. 

Muto,  I  change;  mutable,  transmute. 

Nascor  (natus),  to  be  born;  nascent,  natal, 
nativity,  nature. 

Navis,  a  ship;  navy,  naval,  navigate, 
nave. 

Necto  (nexum),  I  tie;  connect,  connec- 
tion, annex. 

Nego  (negatum),  /  deny;  negative,  nega- 
tion, renegade  (Sp.) 


Noceo,  I  injure ;  noxious,  innocuous,  in- 
nocent. 

Nomen,  a  name  ;  nominal,  cognomen,  no- 
mination. 

Novus,  new;  novel,  renovate,  novelty, 
innovation. 

Nox  (noctis),  night;  nocturnal,  equinoc- 
tial, equinox. 

Nudus,  naked;  nude,  denude,  denudation. 

Numerus,  a  number;  numeration,  in- 
numerable, enumerate. 

Octo,  eight;  octave,  octagon,  October. 

Omnis,  all;  omnibus,  omnipotent,  om- 
niscient. 

Opus  (operis),  work;  operation,  co-oper- 
ate, opera. 

Ordo  (ordinis),  order;  ordinal,  ordinary- 
ordinance. 

Oro,  I  pray ;  oration,  orator,  peroration. 

Pando  (pansum  or  passum),  I  spread ;  ex- 
pand, expanse,  compass,  pace. 

Pareo,  I  appear;  appearance,  apparent, 
apparition. 

Paro  (paratum),  I  prepare;  repair  (F.), 
apparatus,  comparison  (F.) 

Pars  (partis),  a  part;  particle,  partition, 
partner,  parcel  (F.) 

Pasco  (pastum),  I  feed;  pastor,  repast, 
pasture. 

Pater,  a  father;  paternal,  parricide  (F.), 
patrimony. 

Patior  (passus),  I  suffer ;  impatient,  pas- 
sive, passion. 

Pax  (pacis),  peace  ;  pacify,  pacific. 

Pello  (pulsum),  I  drive;  repel,  expel,  ex- 
pulsion, impulsive. 

Pendeo  (pensum),  I  hang;  pendant,  de- 
pend, suspend,  suspense,  appendix. 

Pes  (pedis),  the  foot ;  pedal,  impede,  ped- 
estrian, biped. 

Peto  (petitum),  I  seek ;  petition,  petulant, 
compete,  appetite. 

Planus,  level;  plan  (F.),  plane,  plain,  ex- 
plain. 

Plaudo  (plausum),  I  clap  the  hands;  ap- 
plaud, plausible  (F.),  explode. 

Pleo  (pletum),  I  fill ;  complete,  comple- 
tion, supplement. 

Plico  (plicatum),  I  fold;  complicated,  pli- 
able (F.),  reply  (F.),  display  (P.),  simple. 

Poena,  punishment;  penal,  repent,  pen- 
alty, penitent,  penance. 

Pono  (positum),  I  place  ;  deponent,  posi- 
tion, imposition,  post. 

Pons  (pontis),  a  bridge;  pontifiF,  trans;  on- 
tine. 


WORD-BRANCHING. 


151 


Porto,  I  carry;  export,  deportment,  re- 
port, portmanteau  (F.) 

Possum,  I  am  able;  potens,  able;  pos- 
sible, potency  (F.),  impotent. 

Prehendo  (prehensum),  (Fr.  jprendre, 
pris),  I  take;  prehensile,  comprehend, 
apprise,  comprise,  apprentice  (F.) 

Primus,  first;  primary,  primitive,  prim- 
rose. 

Probo,  I  try,  prove ;  probe,  probable,  im- 
prove (F.),  approve  (F.) 

Proprius,  07ie's  own;  proper,  property, 
appropriation. 

Pungo  (punctum),  7  prick;  pungent,  ex- 
punge, punctual,  poignant  (F.) 

Puto  (putatum),  I  cut,  think;  compute, 
count  (F),  amputate,  reputation. 

Quatuor,  four;  quadra,  a  square;  quart, 
quarter,  quarry  (F.),  quadrant. 

Radix,  a  root;  radical,  eradicate,  radish 
(F.) 

Rapio  (raptum),  I  seize  ;  rapture,  rapine, 
surreptitious. 

Rego  (rectum),  I  rule;  rex  (regis),  a  king; 
regal,  regulate,  regent,  rector,  interreg- 
num, royal  (F.),  realm  (N.-Fr.  real). 

Rideo  (risum),  I  laugh;  ridicule  (F.),  de- 
ride, ridiculous  (F.),  risible. 

Rogo  (rogatum),  I  a^k;  rogation,  interro- 
gation, derogatory. 

Rota,  a  wheel;  rotary,  rotation,  rotund 
— contracted  into  round  (F.) 

Rumpo  (ruptum),  /  break  ;  rupture,  erup- 
tion, disruption. 

Sacer,  sacred ;  sacrament,  sacrilege  (F. ), 
sacerdotal,  sexton  (contracted  from 
sacristan). 

Salio  (saltum),  I  leap;  sally  (F.),  assail 
(F.),  salient,  salmon. 

Sanctus,  holy ;  sanctuary,  sanctify,  saint 
(F.) 

Scando  (scansum),  I  climb ;  scala,  a  lad- 
der; scan,  scale,  descent,  ascension. 

Solo,  I  know ;  science,  scientific,  con- 
science, omniscient. 

Scribe  (scri-ptum),  I  ivrite ;  scribe,  scrib- 
ble, scripture,  inscription,  postscript. 

Seco  (sectum),  I  cut;  bisect,  dissect,  in- 
sect, section. 

Sedeo  (sessum),  I  set,  sit;  sediment,  sub- 
side, see  (F.),  residence  (F.),  insidious. 

Sentio,  I  feel;  sense,  sentiment,  sensual, 
scent  (F.) 

Septem,  seven;  septennial,  September. 

Sequor  (secutus),  I  follow ;  sequence  (F.), 
sequel,  consequent,  prosecute. 


Servio,  I  serve;  service  (F.),  servant,  ser- 
geant (F.) 

Signum,  a  sign ;  signify,  significant,  des- 
ignation, ensign  (F.) 

Similis,  like;  similar,  similitude,  resemble 
(F.) 

Socius,  a  companion;  social,  society,  as- 
sociation. 

Solus,  alone;  solitude,  sole,  solo  (It.) 

Solvo(solutum),  I  loose;  dissolve,  resolve, 
absolute,  resolution. 

Specie  (spectum),  I  see;  aspect,  spectator, 
specimen,  spectre. 

Spero,  I  hope;  despair  (F.),  desperate. 

Spiro,    I  breathe ;    inspire,    aspire,    con- 
spiracy. 

Statuo,  I  set  up ;  sto  (statum),  I  stand ; 
statue,  statute,  stature,  institute. 

Stringo   (strictum),    I    hind ;    stringent, 
constrain  (F.),  district. 

Struo  (structum),  I  build;  structure,  con- 
struct, obstruct,  construe. 

Sumo  (sumptum),  I  take;   assume,   con- 
sume, assumption. 

Tango  (tactum),  I  touch;   tangible,  tan- 
gent, contact,  contagious. 

Tego  (tectum),  I  cover;  integument,  de- 
tect, tile  (F.)  ;  from  Lat.  tegula. 

Tempus  (temporis),  time;  temporal,  con- 
temporary, extempore. 

Tendo  (tensum),  I  stretch;   contend,  ex- 
tend, attend,  tense  (F.),  tendon. 

Teneo  (tentum),   I  hold;   tenant,   tenet, 
tendril,  detain  (F.),  retentive. 

Terminus,  an  end,  boundary;  terminate, 
term,  interminable. 

Terra,  the  earth;  subterranean,  terrestrial, 
Mediterranean. 

Terreo,  I  frighten  ;  terror,  terrify,  deter. 

Texo    (textum),   I  weave ;    textile,    text, 
texture,  context. 

Timeo,  1  fear ;  timid,  timorous. 

Torqueo  (tortum),  I  twist;  torture,  tor- 
ment, contortion,  retort. 

Traho  (tractum),  I  draw ;  traction,  sub- 
tract, contraction,  tract. 

Tres  (tria),  three ;  trefoil,  trident,  trinitj'. 

Tribuo,   I  give;  tribute,  tributary,   con- 
tribution, 

Tumeo,  I  swell;  tumulus,  a  swelling  or 
mound;  tumvdt,  tumour,  tomb  (F.) 

Unus,  one ;    union,  unit,  unite,  uniform, 
unique  (F.) 

TJrbs,  a  city ;  suburb,  urbanity,  urbane. 

Valeo,  7  am  strong ;  valour,  valiant  (F.)j 
prevail  (F.) 


152 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


Vanus,  empty;  vanity,  vanish,  vain  (F.) 

Veho  (vectum),  I  convey;  vehicle,  con- 
veyance (F.),  convex. 

Venio,  I  come;  venture,  advent,  convene, 
covenant  (F.) 

Verbum,  a  word;  verb,  adverb,  verbose, 
verbal,  proverb. 

Verto  (versum),  I  turn;  convert,  revert, 
divert,  versatile. 

Varus,  true;  verity,  verify,  aver,  verdict. 

Via,  a  way ;  deviate,  previous,  trivial. 

Video  (visum),  I  see;  vision,  provide,  visit 
(F.),  revise  (F.) 

Vinco  (victum),  I  conquer;  victor,  con- 
vict, victory,  convince. 


Vitium,  a  fault;  vice  (F.),  vitiate,  vicious 
(F.) 

Vivo  (victum).  Hive;  vivid,  revive,  viands 
(F.),  sur\dve. 

Voco  (vocatum),  I  call;  vocal,  vowel  (F.), 
vocation,  revoke,  vociferate. 

Vole,  /  wish;  volition,  voluntary,  benev- 
olence. 

Volvo  (volutum),  I  roll;  revolve,  involve, 
evolution,  volume. 

Voveo  (votum),  I  vow ;  vote,  devote,  vow 
(F.) 

Vulgus,  tlie  common  people;  vulgar,  di- 
vulge, vulgate. 


GREEK  ROOTS. 


AgSn,  a  contest ;  agony,  antagonist. 

Alios,  another;  allopathy,  allegory. 

Angelos,  a  messenger;  angel,  evangelist. 

Anthropos,  a  man;  misanthrope,  philan- 
thropy. 

Archo,  /  begin,  rule;  monarch,  archaic, 
archbishop,  archdeacon. 

Arithmos,  number ;  arithmetic. 

Aster  or  astron,  a  star ;  astronomy,  astro- 
logy, asteroid,  disaster. 

Atmos,  vapour;  atmosphere. 

Autos,  self;  autocrat,  autograph. 

Ballo,  I  throw ;  symbol,  parable. 

Bapto,  /  dip ;  baptise,  baptist. 

Bares,  weight;  barometer,  baritone. 

Bibles,  a  book  ;  Bible,  bibliomania. 

Bies,  life;  biography,  biology,  amphi- 
bious. 

Cheir,  the  hand;  surgeon  [older  form, 
chirurgeon], 

Chole,  bile;  melancholy,  choler. 

Chrio,  I  anoint ;  Christ,  chrism. 

Chronos,  time;  chronology,  chronic,  chron- 
icle, chronometer. 

Daktulos,  a  finger;  dactyl,  pterodactyl, 
date  (the  fruit). 

Deka,  ten ;  decagon,  decalogue,  decade. 

Demos,  the  people;  democrat,  endemic, 
epidemic. 

Dekeo,  I  think;  doxa  and  dogma,  an 
opinion;  doxology,  orthodox,  hetero- 
dox,  dogma,  dogmatic. 

Drao,  /  do ;  drama,  dramatic. 

DunSmis,  povier  ;  dynamics,  dynamite. 

Eidos,  form  ;  kaleidoscope,  spheroid. 


Eikon,  an  image;  iconoclast. 

Electron,  amber;  electricity,  electrotype. 

Ergon,  a  work;  surgeon  (= chirurgeon), 
energy,  metallurgy. 

Eu,  well ;  eucharist,  euphony,  evangelist. 

Games,  marriage ;  bigamy,  monogamist, 
misogamy. 

Ge,  the  earth;  geography,  geometry,  geo- 
logy. 

Gennae,  I  produce ;  genesis,  genealogy, 
hydrogen,  oxygen. 

Graphe,  I  ivrite  ;  gramma,  a  letter ;  gra- 
phic, grammar,  telegraph,  biography, 
diagram. 

Haima,  blood;  haemorrhage,  haemorrhoid. 

Haireo,  I  take  away  ;  heresy,  heretic. 

Hecaton,  a  hundred;  hecatomb,  hecto- 
metre. 

Helios,  the  sun  :  heliograph,  heliotype. 

Hemi,  half;  hemisphere. 

Hieros,  sacred  ;  hierarchy,  hieroglyphic. 

Hippos,  a  horse;  hippopotamus,  hippo- 
drome. 

Hodos,  a  way ;  method,  period,  exodus. 

Homos,  the  same ;  homoeopathy,  homo- 
geneous. 

Hudor,  water:  hydraulic,  hydrophobia, 
hydrogen. 

Ichthus,  a  fish;  ichthyology. 

Idios,  one's  own ;  idiom,  idiot,  idiosyn- 
crasy. 

Isos,  equal;  isochronous,  isobaric (of  equal 
weight),  isosceles. 

Kales,  beautiful;  caligraphy, kaleidoscope. 

Kephale,  the  head  ;  hydrocephalus. 


WORD-BEANCHING. 


153 


Klino,  I  tend;  clinical,  climax,  climate. 

Kosmos,  order;  cosmogony,  cosmography, 
cosmetic. 

Krino,  I  judge :  critic,  criterion,  hypo- 
crite. 

Kuklos,  a  circle  ;  cycle,  cycloid,  cyclone. 

Kuon  (kun-os),  a  dog  ;  cynic,  cynicism. 

Lego,  I  say,  choose  ;  eclectic,  lexicon. 

Lithos,  a  stone  .  lithograph,  aerolite. 

L6gos,  a  word,  speech ;  logic,  dialogue, 
geology. 

Luo,  I  loosen;  dialysis,  analy.sis,  paralysis. 

Meter,  a  mother ;  metropolis,  metropo- 
litan. 

Metron,  a  measure ;  metre,  metronome, 
diameter,  thermometer,  barometer. 

Monos,  alone  ;  monastery,  monogram,  mo- 
nosyllable, monopoly,  monarch. 

Morphe,  shape  ;  amorphous,  dimorphous, 
metamorphic. 

Naus,  a  ship  ;  nautical,  nausea. 

Nekros,  a  dead  body;  necropolis,  necro- 
mancy. 

Nomos,  a  law  ;  autonomous,  astronomy, 
Deuteronomy. 

Oikos,  a  house  ;  economy,  economical. 

Onoma,  a  name ;  anonymous,  synony- 
mous, patronymic. 

Optomai,  /  see  ;  optics,  sjTioptical. 

Orthos,  right :  orthodoxy,  orthography. 

Pais  (paid-os),  a  boy ;  pedagogue  [lit.  a 
boy-leader]. 

Pan,  all  ■  pantheist,  panoply,  pantomime. 

Fa,tlo.os,  feeling ;  pathetic,  sympathy. 

Pente,  five ,  pentagon,  pentateuch,  Pente- 
cost. 

Petra,  a  rock  ;  petrify,  petrel,  Peter. 

Phainomai,  I  appear  ;  phenomenon,  phan- 
tasy, phantom,  fantastic,  fancy. 

Phero,  1  bear  ;  periphery,  phosphorus 
[=the  light-bearer]. 


Phileo,  I  love;  philosophy,  Philadelphia, 
philharmonic. 

Phone,  a  sound ;  phonic,  phonetic,  eu- 
phony, symphony. 

Plios  ;ph6t-os),  light;  photometer,  photo- 
graph. 

Phusis,  nature ;  physics,  physiology,  phy- 
sician. 

Poieo,  T make;  poet, i)oetic,  pharmacopoeia. 

Polls,  a  city ;  Constantinople,  metrcipolis. 

Polus,  many  ;  polytheist,  Polynesia,  poly- 
anthus, polygamy. 

Pous  (p6d-os),  afoot;  antipodes,  tripod. 

Protos,  first ;  prototype,  protoplasm. 

Pur,  fire  ;  pyrotechnic,  pyre. 

Rheo,  /  fiow  ;  rhetoric,  catarrh,  rheu- 
matic. 

Skopeo,  /  see;  microscope,  telescope, 
spectroscope,  bishop  [from  episkopos, 
an  overseerl. 

Sophia,  wisdom  ;  sophist,  philosophy. 

Stello,  /  send ;  apostle,  epistle. 

Stratos,  an  army ;  strategj',  strategic. 

Strepho,  I  turn;  catastrophe, apostrophe. 

Techne,  an  art ;  technical. 

Tfile,  distant;  telegraph,  telescope,  tele- 
phone, telegram. 

Temno,  /  cut ;  anatomy,  lithotomy, 

Tetra,  four ;  tetrachord,  tetrarch. 

Theaomai,  I  see;  theatre,  theory. 

Theos,  a  god:  theist,  enthusiast, theology. 
I  Therme,  heat :  thermal,  thermometer, 
I      isotherm. 

I  Tithemi,  I  place  ;  thesis,  a  placing ;  syn- 
I      thesis,  hypothesis. 
I  Treis,  three ;  triangle,  trigonometry,  tri- 
I      pod,  trinity,  trichord. 

Trepo,  /  turn ;  trophy,  tropic,  heliotrope. 

Tnpos,  th^  impress  of  a  seal ;  type,  stereo* 
type. 

Zdon,  an  animal ;  zoology,  zodiac. 


WORDS   DERIVED    FROM   THE   NAMES   OF 
PERSONS,    ETC. 

Argosy,  a  corruption  of  Ragosie,  "a  ship  of  Ragusa,"  Ragusa  being  a 
port  in  Dalmatia,  on  the  East  Coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Venice.  Used  by- 
Shakespeare,  in  the  "Merchant  of  Venice,"  i.  1.  9,  in  the  sense  of 
trading  vessel. 

Assassins,  the  name  of  a  fanatical  Syrian  sect  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
who,  under  the  influence  of  a  drug  prepared  from  hemp,  called  has- 
chisch,  rushed  into  battle  against  the  Crusaders,  and  slaughtered 
many^  of  their  foes. 

Atlas,  one  of  the  Titans,  or  earlier  gods,  who  was  so  strong  that  he  was  said 
to  caxTy  the  world  on  his  shoulders. 

August,  from  Augustus  Caesar,  the  second  Emperor  of  Rome. 

Bacchanalian,  from  the  festival  called  Bacchanalia;  from  Bacchus,  the 
Roman  god  of  wine. 

Boycott  (to),  from  Captain  Boycott,  a  land  agent  in  the  west  of  Ireland, 
who  was  ''  sent  to  Coventry  "  by  all  his  neighbours  ;  they  would  neither 
speak  to  him,  buy  from  him,  or  sell  to  him — by  order  of  the  "  Irish 
Land  League." 

Chimera,  a  totally  imaginary  and  grotesque  image  or  conception  ;  from 
Chimsera,  a  monster  in  the  Greek  mythology,  half  goat,  half  lion. 

Cicerone,  a  guide  ;  from  Cicero,  the  greatest  Roman  orator  and  Avriter  of 
speeches  that  ever  lived.  (Guides  who  described  antiquities,  etc.*  were 
supposed  to  be  as  "fluent  as  Cicero.") 

Cravat,  from  the  Croats  or  Crabali  of  Croatia,  who  supplied  an  army 
corps  to  Austria,  in  which  long  and  large  neck-ties  were  worn  by  the 
soldiers. 

Dahlia,  from  Dahl,  a  Swedish  botanist,  who  introduced  the  flower  into 
Europe. 

Draconian  (code),  a  very  severe  code  ;  from  Draco,  a  severe  Athenian  legis- 
lator, who  decreed  death  for  every  crime,  great  or  small.  His  laws 
were  said  to  have  been  "written  in  blood." 

Dunce,  from  Duns  Scotus,  a  great  philosopher  (or  "schoolman")  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  who  died  1308.  The  followers  of  Thomas  Aquinas 
called  "Thomists,"  looked  down  upon  those  of  Duns,  who  were  called 
"Scotists,"  and  in  course  of  time  "Dunces." 


WORDS   DERIVED   FROM   THE   NAMES   OF   PERSONS.       155 

Epicure,  a  person  fond  of  good  living  ;  from  Epicurus,  a  great  Greek  phil- 
osopher. His  enemies  misrepresented  him  as  teaching  that  pleasure 
was  the  highest  or  chiefest  good. 

Euphuistic  (style),  a  style  of  high-flown  refinement ;  from  Euphues  (the 
well-born  man),  the  title  of  a  book  written  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
by  John  Lyly,  which  introduced  a  too  ingenious  and  far-fetched  way 
of  speaking  and  writing  in  her  Court. 

Fauna,  the  collective  name  for  all  the  animals  of  a  region  or  country  ;  from 
Faunus,  a  Roman  god  of  the  woods  and  country.  (The  Fauni  were 
minor  rural  deities  of  Rome,  who  had  the  legs,  feet,  and  ears  of  a  goat, 
and  the  other  parts  of  the  body  of  a  human  shape.) 

Flora,  the  collective  name  for  all  the  plants  and  flowers  of  a  region  or 
country ;  from  Flora,  the  Roman  goddess  of  flowers. 

Galvanism,  from  Galvani,  an  Italian  physicist,  lecturer  on  anatomy  at 
Bologna,  who  discovered,  by  experiments  on  frogs,  that  animals  are 
endowed  with  a  certain  kind  of  electricity. 

Gordian  (knot),  the  knot  tied  by  Gordius  a  king  of  Phrygia,  who  had  been 
originally  a  peasant.  The  knot  by  which  he  tied  the  draught-pole 
of  his  chariot  to  the  yoke  was  so  intricate,  that  no  one  could  untie  it. 
A  rumour  spread  that  the  oracle  had  stated  that  the  empire  of  Asia 
would  belong  to  him  who  should  untie  the  Gordian  knot.  Alexander 
the  Great,  to  encourage  his  soldiers,  tried  to  untie  it  ;  but,  finding 
that  he  could  not,  he  cut  it  through  with  his  sword,  and  declared  that 
he  had  thus  fulfilled  the  oracle. 

Guillotine,  an  instrument  for  beheading  at  one  stroke,  used  in  France. 
It  was  invented  during  the  time  of  the  Revolution  by  Dr  Guillotin. 

Hansom  (cab),  from  the  name  of  its  inventor. 

Hector  (to),  to  talk  big;  from  Hector,  the  bravest  of  the  Trojans,  as 
Achilles  was  the  bravest  of  the  Grecian  chiefs. 

Hermetically  (sealed),  so  sealed  as  to  entirely  exclude  the  outer  air  ; 
from  Hermes,  the  name  of  the  Greek  god  who  corresponds  to  the 
Roman  god  Mercury.  Hermes  was  fabled  to  be  the  inventor  of 
chemistry. 

Jacobin,  a  revolutionist  of  the  extremest  sort ;  from  the  hall  of  the 
Jacobin  Friars  in  Paris,  where  the  revolutionists  used  to  meet. 
Robespierre  was  for  some  time  their  chief. 

Jacobite,  a  follower  of  the  Stuart  family  ;  from  James  II.  (in  Latin 
Jacobus),  who  was  driven  from  the  English  throne  in  1688. 

January,  from  the  Roman  god  Janus,  a  god  with  two  faces,  "looking 
before  and  after." 

Jovial,  with  the  happy  temperament  of  a  person  born  under  the  influence 
of  the  star  Jupiter  or  Jove  ;  a  term  taken  from  the  old  astrology. 
(Opposed  to  saturnine,  gloomy,  because  born  under  the  star  Saturn.) 

July,  from  Julius,  in  honour  of  Julius  Caesar,  the  great  Roman  general, 
writer,  and  statesman — who  was  born  in  this  month. 

Lazarettor  or  Lazar-house,  from  Lazarus,   the  beggar  at  the  gate   of 


156  GRAMMAR   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

Dives,  in  Luke  xvi.  The  word  is  corrupted  into  lizard  in  Lizard- 
point,  where  a  lazar-house  once  stood,  for  the  reception  of  sick  people 
from  on  board  ship. 

Lynch-law,  from  a  famous  Judge  Lynch,  of  Tennessee,  who  made  short 
work  of  his  trials,  and  then  of  his  criminals. 

Macadamise,  to  make  roads  of  fragments  of  stones,  which  afterwards 
cohere  in  one  mass  ;  from  John  Loudon  Macadam,  the  inventor,  who, 
in  1827,  received)  from  the  Government  a  reward  of  £10,000  for  hia 
plan. 

March,  from  Mars,  the  Roman  god  of  war. 

Martinet,  a  severe  disciplinarian,  with  an  eye  for  the  smallest  details  ; 
from  General  Martinet,  a  strict  commander  of  the  time  of  Louis  XIV. 
of  France. 

Mausoleum,  a  splendidly  built  tomb  ;  from  Mausolus,  King  of  Caria  in 
Asia  Minor,  to  whom  his  widow  erected  a  gorgeous  burial-chamber. 

Mentor,  an  adviser  ;  from  Mentor,  the  aged  counsellor  of  Telemachus,  the 
son  of  Ulysses. 

Mercurial,  of  light,  airy,  and  quick-spirited  temperament,  as  having  been 
born  under  the  planet  Mercury  (compare  Jovial,  Saturnine,  etc.) 

Panic,  a  sudden  and  unaccountable  terror  ;  from  Pan,  the  god  of  flocks 
and  shepherds.     He  was  fabled  to  appear  suddenly  to  travellers. 

Parrot  {  —  Little  Peter,  or  PeterTcin),  from  the  French  Parrot  =  Pierrot, 
from  Pierre,  Peter.  Compare  Magpie^ Margaret  Pie;  Jackdaw; 
Pobin-redbreast ;   Cuddy  (from  Cuthbert),  a  donkey,  etc. 

Petrel,  the  name  of  a  sea-bird  that  skims  the  tops  of  the  waves  in  a  storm, 
the  diminutive  of  Peter.  It  is  an  allusion  to  Matthew  xiv.  29.  These 
birds  are  called  by  sailors  "Mother  Carey's  chickens." 

Phaeton,  a  kind  of  carriage  ;  from  Phiiethon,  a  son  of  Apollo,  who  received 
from  his  father  permission  to  guide  the  chariot  of  the  Sun  for  a  single 
day. 

Philippic,  a  violent  political  speech  directed  against  a  person  ;  from  the 
orations  made  by  Demosthenes,  tlie  great  Athenian  orator,  against 
Philip  of  Macedon,  the  father  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Plutonic  (rocks),  igneous  rocks  (create'd  by  the  action  of  fire) — in  oppo- 
sition to  sedimentary  rocks,  which  have  been  formed  by  the  depositing 
action  of  water  ;  from  Pluto,  the  Roman  god  of  the  infernal  regions. 

Protean,  assuming  many  shapes  ;  from  Proteus,  a  sea-deity,  who  had 
received  the  gift  of  prophecy  from  Neptune,  but  who  was  very 
difficult  to  catch,  as  he  could  take  whatever  form  he  pleased. 

Quixotic,  fond  of  utterly  impracticable  designs  ;  from  Don  Quixote,  the 
hero  of  the  national  Spanish  romance,  by  Cervantes.  Don  Quixote  is 
made  to  tilt  at  wandmills,  proclaim  and  make  war  against  wliole 
nations  by  himself,  and  do  many  other  chivalrous  and  absurd 
things. 

Simony,  the  fault  of  illegally  buying  and  selling  church  livings  ;  from 
Simon  Magus.     (See  Acts  viii.  18.) 


WORDS   DERIVED    FROM   THE  NAMES   OF  PERSONS.       157 

Stentorian,  very  loud  and  strong  ;  from  Stentor,  whom  Homer  describes 
as  the  loudest-voiced  man  in  the  Grecian  army  that  was  besieging 
Troy. 

Tantalise,  to  tease  with  impossible  hopes  ;  from  Tantalus,  a  king  of 
Lydia  in  Asia  Minor.  He  offended  the  gods,  and  was  placed  in 
Hades  up  to  his  lips  in  a  pool  of  water,  which,  when  he  attempted  to 
drink  it,  ran  away  ;  and  with  bunches  of  grapes  over  his  head,  which, 
when  he  tried  to  grasp  them,  were  blown  from  his  reach  by  a  blast  of 
wind. 

Tawdry,  shabby  —  a  term  often  applied  to  cheap  finery  ;  from  St 
Ethelreda,  which  became  St  Audrey:  originally  applied  to  clothes 
sold  at  St  Audrey's  fair.  (Compare  Tooley  from  St  Olave ;  Ted  from 
St  Edmund;  etc.) 

Volcano  and  Vulcanite,  from  the  Roman  god  of  fire  and  smiths,  Vulcanus. 
A  volcano  was  regarded  as  the  chimney  of  one  of  his  workshops. 


WORDS   DERIVED    FROM   THE   NAMES   OP 

PLACES. 

Academy,  from  Academia,  the  house  of  Academus,  a  friend  of  the  great 
Greek  philosopher  Plato,  who  was  allowed  to  teach  his  followers 
there.  Plato  taught  either  in  Academus's  garden,  or  in  his  own 
house. 

Artesian  (well),  from  Artois,  the  name  ,of  an  old  province  in  the  north- 
west of  France,  the  inliabitants  of  which  were  accustomed  to  pierce 
the  earth  for  water. 

Bayonet,  from  Bayonne,  in  the  south  of  France,  on  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 
(Compare  Pistol  from  Pistoia,  a  town  in  the  north  of  Italy.) 

Bedlam,  the  name  for  a  lunatic  asylum — a  corruption  of  the  word  Beth- 
lehem (Hospital). 

Cambric,  the  name  of  the  finest  kind  of  linen  ;  from  Cambray,  a  town  in 
French  Flanders,  in  the  north-west  of  France. 

Canter,  an  easy  and  slow  gallop  ;  from  the  pace  assumed  by  the  Canter- 
bury Pilgrims,  when  riding  along  the  green  lanes  of  England  to  the 
shrine  of  Thomas  h.  Becket. 

Carronade,  a  short  cannon ;  from  Carron,  in  Stirlingshire,  Scotland, 
where  it  was  first  made. 

Cherry  ;  from  Cerasus,  a  town  in  Pontus,  Asia  Minor,  where  it  was  much 
grown. 

Copper  and  Cypress  ;  from  the  island  of  Cyprus,  in  the  Mediterranean. 

Currants,  small  dried  grapes  from  Corinth,  in  Greece,  where  they  are  still 
grown  in  large  quantities.     They  are  shipped  at  the  port  of  Patras. 

Damson,  a  contraction  of  damascene ;  from  Damascus  =  the  Damascus 
plum.     (Hence  also  damask.) 

Dollar,  a  coin — the  chief  coin  used  in  America  ;  from  German  Thaler 
{  =  Daler,  or  something  made  in  a  dale  or  valley).  The  first  coins  of 
this  sort  were  made  in  St  Joachimsthal  in  Bohe^Ilia,  and  were  called 
Joachim  s  thaler. 

Elysian  {used  with  fields  or  bliss),  from  Elysium,  the  place  to  which  the 
souls  of  brave  Greeks  went  after  death. 

Ermine,  the  fur  worn  on  judges'  robes  ;  from  Armenia,  because  this  fur 
is  "the  spoil  of  the  Armenian  rat." 


WORDS   DERIVED   FROM   THE   NAMES   OF   PLACES.        159 

Florin,  a  two-shilling  piece ;  from  Florence.  Professor  Skeat  says : 
"  Florins  were  coined  by  Edward  III.  in  1337,  and  named  after  the 
coins  of  Florence." 

Gasconading,  boasting  ;  from  Gascony,  a  southern  province  of  France,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  were  much  given  to  boasting.  One  Gascon,  on 
being  shown  the  Tuileries — the  palace  of  the  Kings  of  France — re- 
.  marked  that  it  reminded  him  to  some  extent  of  his  father's  stables, 
which,  however,  were  somewhat  larger. 

Gipsy,  a  corrupt  form  of  the  word  Egyptian.  The  Gipsies  were  supposed 
to  come  from  Egypt.     (The  French  call  them  Bohemians. ) 

Guinea,  a  coin  value  21s.  now  quite  out  of  use,  except  as  a  name — made 
of  gold  brought  from  the  Guinea  Coast,  in  the  west  of  Africa. 

Hock,  the  generic  term  for  all  kinds  of  Rhine-wine,  but  properly  only  the 
name  of  that  which  comes  from  Hochheim,  a  celebrated  vineyard. 

Indigo,  a  blue  dye,  obtained  from  the  leaves  of  certain  plants  ;  from  the 
Latin  adjective  Indicus= belonging  to  India. 

Laconic,  short,  pithy,  and  full  of  sense  ;  from  Laconia,  a  country  in  the 
south  of  Greece,  the  capital  of  which  was  Sparta  or  Lacedtemon, 
The  Laconians,  and  especially  the  Spartans,  were  little  given  to  talk' 
ing,  unlike  their  lively  rivals,  the  Athenians. 

Lilliputian,  very  small ;  from  Lilliput,  the  name  of  the  imaginary  country 
of  extremely  small  men  and  women,  visited  by  Captain  Lemuel 
Gulliver,  the  hero  of  Swift's  tale  called  *  Gulliver's  Travels.' 

Lumber,  useless  things  ;  from  Lombard,  the  Lombards  being  famous  for 
money-lending.  The  earliest  kind  of  banking  was  pawnbroking  ;  and 
pawnbrokers  placed  their  pledges  in  the  "  Lombard-room,"  which,  as  it 
gradually  came  to  contain  all  kinds  of  rubbish,  came  also  to  mean  and 
to  be  called  "lumber-room."     In  America,  timber  is  called  lumber. 

Meander  (to),  to  "wind  about  and  in  and  out  ;"  from  the  Maeander,  a 
very  winding  river  in  the  plain  of  Troy,  in  Caria,  in  the  nortli-west 
of  Asia  Minor. 

Magnesia  and  Magnet,  from  Magnesia,  a  town  in  Thessaly,  in  the  north 
of  Greece. 

Milliner,  originally  a  dealer  in  wares  from  Milan,  a  large  city  in  the  north 
of  Italy,  in  the  plain  of  the  Po. 

Muslin,  from  Mosul,  a  town  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  on  the  Tigris. 

Palace,  from  the  Latin  palatium,  a  building  on  Mons  Palatinus,  one  of 
the  seven  hills  of  Home.  This  building  became  the  residence  of 
Augustus  and  other  Roman  emperors  ;  and  hence  palace  came  to  be 
the  generic  term  for  the  house  of  a  king  or  ruling  jjrince.  Palatinus, 
itself  comes  from  Pales,  a  Roman  goddess  of  flocks,  and  is  connected 
with  the  Lat.  pater,  a  father  or  feeder. 

Peach,  from  Lat.  Persicum  {malum),  the  Persian  apple,  from  Persia. 
The  r  has  been  gradually  absorbed. 

Pheasant,  from  the  Phasis,  a  river  of  Colchis  in  Asia  Minor,  at  the  eastern 
end  of  the  Black  Sea,  from  which  these  birds  were  first  brought. 


160  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

Port,  a  wine  from  Oporto,  in  Portugal,     (Compare  Sherry  from  Xerei,  in 

the  south  of  Spain.) 
Rhubarb,  from  Rha  barbaxmn,  the  wild  Rha  plant.     Rha  is  an  old  name 

for  the  Volga,  from  the  banks  of  which  this  plant  was  imported. 
Solecism,  a  blunder  in  the  use  of  words ;   from  Soli,  a  town  in  Cilicia, 

in  Asia  ]\Iinor,  the  inhabitants  of  which  used  a  mixed  dialect. 
Spaniel,  a  sporting-dog  remarkable  for  its  sense  ;  from  Spain.     The  best 

kinds  are  said  to  come  from  Hispaniola,  an  island  in  the  West  Indies, 

now  called  Hayti. 
Stoic,  from  Stoa  Poikile,  the  Painted  Porch,  a  porch  in  Athens,  where 

Zeno,  the  founder  of  the  Stoic  School,  taught  hi^  disciples. 
Utopian,  impossible  to  realise  ;  from  Utopia  ( =  Nowhere),  the  title  of  a 

story  written  by  Sir  Thomas  More,  in  which  he  described,  under  the 

guise  of  an  imaginary  island,  the  probable  state  o^  England,  if  her 

laws  and  customs  were  reformed, 


WORDS    DISGUISED    IN    FORM. 

"When  a  word  is  imported  from  a  foreign  language  into  our 
own,  there  is  a  natural  tendency  among  the  people  who  use  the 
word  to  give  it  a  native  and  homely  dress,  and  so  to  make  it 
look  like  English.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  proper 
names.  Thus  the  walk  through  St  James's  Park  from  Bucking- 
ham Palace  to  the  House  of  Commons  was  called  Bocage  Walk 
(that  is,  shrubbery  walk) ;  but,  as  Bocage  was  a  strange  word  to 
the  Londoner,  it  became  quickly  corrupted  into  Birdcage  Walk, 
though  there  is  not,  and  never  was,  any  sign  of  birdcages  in  the 
neighbourhood.  Birdcage  is  a  known  word,  Bocage  is  not — 
that  is  the  whole  matter.  In  the  same  way,  our  English  sailors, 
when  they  captured  the  French  ship  BellerojjJion,  spoke  of  it  as 
the  Billi/  Ruffian  ;  and  our  English  soldiers  in  India  mentioned 
Surajah  Dowlah,  the  prince  who  put  the  English  prisoners  into 
the  Black  Hole,  as  Sir  Roger  Dowler.  The  same  phenomenon 
is  observed  also  in  common  names — and  not  infrequently.  The 
following  are  some  of  the  most  remarkable  examples : — 

Alligator,  from  Spanish  el  lagarto,  the  lizard.  The  article  el  (from  Latin 
iUe)  has  clung  to  the  word.  Lat.  lacerta,  a  lizard.  (The  Arabic 
article  al  has  clung  to  the  noun  in  alchemy,  algebra,  almanac,  etc.) 

Artichoke  (no  connection  with  choke),  from  Ital.  articiocco ;  from  Arabic 
al  harshaff,  an  artichoke. 

Atonement,  a  hybrid — atone  being  English,  and  ment  a  Latin  ending. 
Atone  =  to  bring  or  come  into  one.  Shakespeare  has  "Earthly  things, 
made  even,  atone  together." 

Babble,  from  ba  and  the  frequentative  le  ;  it  means  "to  keep  on  saying  "  ba. 

Bank,  a  form  of  the  word  bench,  a  money-table. 

Belfry  (nothing  to  do  with  bell),  from  M,  E.  berfray ;  0.  Fr.  berfroit,  a 
watch-tower. 


162  GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

Brimstone,  from  hum.    The  r  is  an  easily  moved  letter — as  in  three,  third  ; 

turn,  trundle,  etc. 
Bugle,  properly  a  wild  ox.     Bugle,  in  the  sense  of  a  musical  instrument, 

is  really  short  for  hugle-horn.     Lat.  huculus,  a  bullock,  a  diminutive 

of  hos. 
Bustard,  from  0.  Fr.  oustarde,  from  Lat  avis  tarda,  the  tardy  or  slow 

bird. 
Butcher,  from  0.  Fr.  bocher,  a  man  wlio  slaughters  he-goats ;  from  boo, 

the  French  form  of  buck. 
Butler,  the  servant  in  charge  of  the  butts  or  casks  of  wine.     (The  whole 

collection  of  butts  was  called  the  buttery ;  a  little  butt  is  a  bottle. ) 
Buxom,  stout,  healthy ;  but  in  0.  E.  obedient.     ' '  Children,  be  buxom  to 

your  parents."     Connected  with  &ow  and  hough.     From  A.  S.  bugan, 

to  bend  ;  which  gives  also  boio,  bight,  boat,  etc. 
Carfax,  a  place  where  four  roads  meet.     0.  Fr.  carrefourgs ;  Latin  quatuosr 

f ureas,  four  forks. 
Carouse,  from  German  gar  aus,  quite  out.     Spoken  of  emptying  a  goblet. 
Caterpillar  =  hairy-cat,  from  0.  Fr.   chate,  a  she-cat,  and  0.  Fr.  pelouse, 

hairy,  Lat.  pilosus.      Compare  looolly-bear. 
Causeway  (no  connection  with  loay),  from  Fr.  chausee  ;  Lat.  calceata  via,  a 

way  strewed  with  limestone ;  from  Lat.  calx,  lime. 
Clove,  through  Fr.  clou,  from  Lat.  clavus,  a  nail,  from  its  resemblance  to 

a  small  nail. 
Constable,  from  Lat.  comes  stabuli,  count  of  the  stable ;  hence  Master  of 

the  Horse ;  and,  in  the  13th  century,  commander  of  the  king's  army. 
Coop,  a  cognate  of  cup ;  from  Lat.  cupa,  a  tub. 
Cope,  a  later  spelling  of  cape.     Cap,  cape,  and  cope  are  forms  of  the  same 

word. 
Costermonger,  properly  costard-monger ;  from  costard,  a  large  apple. 
Counterpane  (not  at  all  connected  with  counter  or  with  paiie,  but  with 

quilt  and  point),   a  coverlet  for  a  bed.     The  proper  form  is  contre- 

pointe,  from  Low  Lat.  culcita  puncta,  a  punctured  quilt. 
Country-dance,    (not  connected  with  country),  a  corruption  of  the  French 

contre-danse ;  a  dance  in  which  each  dancer  stands  contre  or  contra  or 

opposite  his  partner. 
Coward,  an  animal  that  drops  his  tai].     0.  Fr.  col  and  ard  ;  from  Lat. 

Cauda,  a  tail. 
Crayfish,  (nothing  to  do  with  fish),  from  0.  Fr.  escrevisse.     This  is  really 

a  Frenchified  form  of  the  German  word  Krehs,  which  is  the  German 

form  of  our  English  word  crab.     The  true  division  of  the  word  into 

syllables  is  crayf-ish  ;  and  thus  the  seeming  connection  wuth  fish  dis- 
appears. 
Custard,  a  misspelling  of  the  M.  E.  word  crustade,  a  general  name  for  pies 

made  with  crust. 
Daisy  =  day's  eye.      Chaucer  says :    "  The  dayes  eye  or  else  the  eye  of 

day." 


WORDS   DISGUISED   IN   FORM.  163 

Dandelion  =  dent  de  lion,  the  lion's  tooth  ;  so  named  from  its  jagged 
leaves. 

Dirge,  a  funeral  song  of  sorrow.  In  the  Latin  service  for  the  dead,  one  part 
began  with  the  words  (Ps.  v.  8)  dirige,  Dominus  meus,  in  conspectu 
tuo  vitam  meam,  "  Direct  my  life,  0  Lord,  in  thy  sight ;  "  and  dirige 
was  contracted  into  dirge. 

Drawing-room  =  withdrawing-room,  a  room  to  which  guests  retire  after 
dinner. 

Dropsy  (no  connection  with  droj)),  from  0.  Fr.  hydropisce,  from  Gr. 
hudor,  water.  (Compare  chirurgeon,  which  has  been  shortened  into 
surgeon;  example,  into  sam2)le;  estate,  into  state.) 

Easel,  a  diminutive  of  the  word  ass,  through  the  Dutch  ezel ;  like  the 
Latin  asellus. 

Farthing  =  fourthing.     {Four  appears  as/r  in  firkin  ;  and  as  for  in  forty.) 

Frontispiece  (not  connected  with  piece),  that  which  is  seen  or  placed  in 
front.     Lat.  specio,  I  see. 

Gadfly  =  goad-fly  (sting-fly). 

Gospel  =  God-spell,  a  narrative  about  God. 

Grove,  originally  a  lane  cut  through  trees.  A  doublet  of  groove,  and 
grave,  from  A.  S.  grafan,  to  dig. 

Haft,  that  by  which  we  have  or  hold  a  thing. 

Hamper,  old  form,  hanaper ;  from  Low  Latin  hanaperium,  a  large  basket 
for  keeping  drinking-cups  [hanapi)  in. 

Handsel,  money  given  into  the  hand  ;  from  A.  S.  sellan,  to  give. 

Hanker,  to  keep  the  mind  hanging  on  a  thing.  Er  is  a  frequentative  suffix, 
as  in  batter,  linger,  etc. 

Harbinger,  a  man  who  goes  before  to  provide  a  harbour  or  lodging-place 
for  an  army.  The  n  is  intrusive,  as  in  porringer,  passenger,  and  mes- 
senger. (The  ruins  of  old  Roman  villas  were  often  used  by  English 
travellers  as  inns.  Such  places  were  called  "  Cold  Harbours."  There 
are  seventy  places  of  this  name  in  England — all  on  the  great  Roman 
roads. ) 

Hatchment,  the  escutcheon,  shield,  or  coat-of-arms  of  a  deceased  person, 
displayed  in  front  of  his  house.  A  corruption  (by  the  intrusion  of  h) 
of  atch'ment,  the  short  form  of  atchievement,  the  old  spelling  of 
achievement,  which  is  still  the  heraldic  word  for  hatchment. 

Hawthorn  =  hedge-thorn.  Haw  was  in  0.  E.  haga;  and  the  hard  g 
became  a  w ;  and  also  became  softened,  under  French  influence,  into 
dg.Haha,  older  form  Hawhaw,  is  a  sunk  fence. 

Heaven,  that  which  is  heaved  up  ;  heavy,  that  which  requires  much 
heaving. 

Horehound  (not  connected  with  hound),  a  plant  with  stems  covered  with 
white  woolly  down.  The  M.  E.  form  is  hoar-hune  ;  and  the  second 
syllable  means  scented.  The  syllable  hoar  means  lohite,  as  in  hoar- 
frost. The  final  d  is  excrescent  or  inorganic — like  the  d  in  sound,  hound 
(=  ready  to  go),  etc. 


164  GRAMMAR   OF   THE    ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

Humble-bee  (not  connected  with  the  adjective  humhle),  from  M.  E. 
hummelen,  to  keep  humming  —  a  frequentative  ;  the  b  being  in- 
organic. 

Humble-pie  (not  connected  with  the  adjective  humble),  pie  made  of 
umbles,   the  entrails  of  a  deer. 

Husband,  (not  connected  with  bind),  from  Icelandic  husbuandi,  buandi, 
being  the  pres.  participle  of  hna,  to  dwell  ;  and  hus,  house. 

Hussif  (connected  with  house,  but  not  with  tvife),  a  case  containing  needles, 
thread,  etc.  From  Icelandic,  htisi,  a  case,  a  cognate  of  house.  The  f 
is  intrusive,  from  a  mistaken  opinion  that  the  word  was  a  short  form 
of  houseivife. 

Hussy,  a  pert  girl ;  a  corruption  of  housewife. 

Icicle,  (the  ending  cle  is  not  the  diminutive)  a  hanging  point  of  ice.  The 
A.  S.  form  is  isgicel,  a  compound  of  is,  ice,  and  gicel,  a  small  piece  of 
ice  ;  so  that  the  word  contains  a  redundant  element.  (The  ic  in  icicle  is 
entirely  different  from  the  ic  in  art-ic-le  and  in  partic-le.) 

Intoxicate,  to  drug  or  poison  ;  from  Low  Lat,  toxicum,  poison  ;  from  Gr. 
toxon,  a  bow,  plural  toxa,  bow  and  arrows — arrows  for  war  being  fre- 
quently dipped  in  poison. 

Island  (not  connected  with  isle)  —  water-land,  a  misspelling  for  iland  (the 
spelling  that  Milton  always  uses).  The  s  has  intruded  itself  from  a 
confusion  with  the  Lat.  insula,  which  gives  isle. 

Jaw,  properly  chaw,  the  noun  for  cheio.     Cognates  are  jowl  and  chaps. 

Jeopardy,  hazard,  danger.  M.'  E.  jupartie,  from  0.  Fr.  jeu  parti,  a  game 
in  which  the  chances  are  even,  from  Low  Lat.  jdcus  partltus,  a  divided 
game, 

Jerusalem  artichoke  (not  at  all  connected  with  Jerusalem),  a  kind  of  sun- 
flower. Italian  girasole,  from  Lat.  gyrus,  a  circle,  and  sol,  the  sun. 
(In  order  to  clench  the  blunder  contained  in  the  word  Jerusalem, 
cooks  call  a  soup  made  of  this  kind  of  artichoke  "Palestine  soup  !  ") 

Kickshaws,  from  Fr.  quelquechose,  something.  There  was  once  a  plural 
— TcicTcshawses. 

Kind,  the  adjective  from  the  noun  kin. 

Ledge,  a  place  on  which  a  thing  lies.     Hence  also  ledger. 

Line  (to  line  garments)  =  to  put  linen  inside  them.  {Linen  is  really  an 
adjective  from  the  M.  E.  lin,  just  like  woollen,  golden,  etc.) 

Liquorice  (not  connected  with  liquor),  in  M.  E.  licoris ;  from  Gr. 
glyTcyrrhiza,  a  sweet  root.  (For  the  loss  of  the  initial  g,  compare 
Ipswich  and  Gyjipenswich ;  enough  and  genoh ;  and  the  loss  of  ge 
from  all  the  past  participles  of  our  verbs.) 

Mead,  meadow  =  a  place  mowed.  Hence  also  math,  aftermath,  and  moth 
[  =  the  biter  or  eater). 

Nostrils  =  nose-thirles,  nose-holes.  Thirl  is  a  cognate  of  thrill,  drill, 
through,  etc.  (For  change  of  position  of  r,  compare  turn,  trundle; 
work,  Wright ;  wort,  root ;  bride,  bird,  etc. ) 

Nuncheon,  a  corruption  of  M.  E.  none-schencke,  or  noon-drink.     Then 


WOEDS   DISGUISED   IN   FORM.  165 

this  word  got  mixed  up  with  the  provincial  English  word   lunch, 

which  means  a  lump  of  bread  ;  and  so  we  have  luncheon. 
Nutmeg,  a  hybrid  compounded  of  an  English  and  a  French  word.     Meg  is  a 

corruption  of  the  0.  Fr.  musge^  from  Lat.  museum,  musk. 
Orchard  =  wort-yard,    yard   or   garden   for  roots  or  plants.      Wort   is   a 

cognate  of  wart  and  root. 
Ostrich,  from  Lat.  avis  struthio.    Shakespeare  spells  it  estridge  in  "  Antony 

and  Cleopatra,"  iii.  13.  197,  "The  dove  will  peck  the  estridge."     (Avis 

is  found  as  a  prefix  in  bustard  also. ) 
Pastime  =  that  which  enables  one  to  pass  the  time. 
Pea-jacket  (not  connected  with  jjea),  a  short  thick  jacket  often  worn  by 

seamen  ;   from  the  Dutch   pije,   a   coarse  woollen  coat.      Thus   the 

word  jacket  is  superfluous.      In  M.  E.  ^;y  was  a  coat ;  and  we  find  it 

in  Chaucer  combining,  with  a  French  adjective,  to  make  the  hybrid 

courtepy,  a  short  coat. 
Peal  (of  bells),  a  short  form  of  the  word  appeal ;  a  call  or  summons. 

(Compare  penthouse   and   appentis ;    sample   and   example;    scutcheon 

and  escutcheon;  squire  a,nd  esquire ;  etc.) 
Penthouse  (not  connected  with  house),  in  reality  a  doublet  of  appendage, 

though  not  coming  from  it.     0.  Fr.  appentis,  from  Lat.  ap)pendicium, 

from  appendix,  something  hanging  on  to.     {Pendere,  to  hang. ) 
Periwinkle,  a  kind  of  evergreen  plant ;   formed,  by  the  addition  of  the 

diminutive  le,  from  Lat.  pervinca,  from  vinclre,  to  bind. 
Periwinkle,  a  small  mollusc  with  one  valve.     A  corruption  of  the  A.   S. 

pinewincla,  that  is,  a  winkle  eaten  with  a  pin. 
Pickaxe  (not  connected  with  axe),  a  tool  used  in  digging.     A  corruption 

of  M.  E.  pickcys,  from  0.  Fr.  picois  ;  and  connected  with  peak,  pike, 

and  pick. 
Poach  =  to  put  in  the  poke,  pocket,  or  pouch.     So  poached  eggs  are  eggs 

dressed  so  as  to  keep  the  yoke  in  a  pouch.     Cognates  are  pock,  svuiU- 

pox  {=pocks),  etc. 
Porpoise  (not  connected  with  the  verb  poise)  ;  from  Lat.  porcum,  a  pig, 

and  piscem,  a  fish. 
Posthumous  (work),  a  work  that  appears  after  the  death  of  the  author  ; 

from  Lat.   postumus,  the  last.      The  h  is  an  error  ;    and  the  word 

has  no  connection  with  the  Lat.  humus,  the  ground. 
Privet,  a  half -evergreen  shrub.     A  form  of  primet,  a  plant  carefully  cut  and 

trimmed  ;  and  hence  prim.     (For  change  of  m  into  v  (or  p),  compare 

Molly  and  Polly  ;  Matty  and  Patty,  etc.     V  and  p  are  both  labials.) 
Proxy,  a  contraction  of  procuracy,  the  taking  care  of  a  thing  for  another. 

Lat.  pro  for,  and  cura,  care. 
Quick,  living.     We  have  the  word  in  quicklime,  quicksand,  quicksilver; 

and  in  the  phrase  "the  quick  and  the  dead.' 
Quinsy,  a  bad  sore  throat,  a  contraction  of  0.  Fr.  squinancie,  formed,  by 

the  addition  of  a  prefixed  and  strengthening  s,  from  Gr.  kynanche,  a 

dog-throttling. 


1G6  GRAMMAR   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

Biding,  one  of  the  three  divisions  of  Yorkshire.     The  oldest  form  is  Trith- 

ing  or  Thrithing  (from  three  and  ing,  part;  as  in  farthing  =  io\xYt\\ 

part,  etc.)     The  t  or  th  seems  to  have  dropped  from  its  similarity 

and  nearness  to  the  th  in  north  and  the  t  in  east ;  as  in  North-thrithing, 

East-trithing,  etc. 
Sexton,  a  corruption  of  sacristan,  the  keeper  of   the  sacred  vessels  and 

vestments  ;  from  Lat.  sacer,  sacred.     But  the  sexton  is  now  only  the 

grave-digger.     (In  the  same  way,  sacristy  was  shortened  into  sextry.) 
Sheaf    a  collection  shoved  together.     Shove  gives  also  shovel;    and  the 

frequentatives  shuffle  and  scuffle. 
Soup,  a  cognate  of  sop  and  sup. 

Splice  (to  join  after  splitting),  a  cognate  form  of  split  and  splinter. 
Squirrel,  from  0.  Fr.  escurel;  from  Low  Lat.  scuriolus ;  from  Gr.  sTcia, 

a  shadow,  and  aura,  a  tail.     Hence  the  word  means  "shadow-tail." 
Starboard,  the  steering  side  of  a  ship — the  right,  as  one  stands  looking  to 

the  bow. 
Stew,  the  verb  corresponding  to  stove. 
Steward,  from  A.  S.  stiward,  from  the  full  form  stigweard;  from  stige,  a 

sty,  and  weard,  a  keeper.     Originally  a  person  who  looked  after  the 

domestic  animals. 
Stirrup,  modern  form  of  A.  S.  stigrap,  from  stigan,  to  climb,  and  rap,  a 

rope.      Cognates  are  sty,  stile,  stair. 
Straight,  an  old  past  participle  of  stretch.     {Strait  is  a  French  form  of  the 

word  strict,  from  Lat.  strictus,  tied  up.) 
Strong,  a  nasalised  form  of  stark.      Derivatives  are  strength,  strengthen, 

string,  etc. 
Summerset  (not  connected  either  with  summer  or  with  set),  or  somersault,  a 

corruption  of  Fr.  soubresault,  from  Lat.  supra,  above,  and  saltum,  a 

leap.       (There  is  a  connection  between  the  b  and  the  m — the  one 

sliding  into  the  other  when  the  speaker  has  a  cold.) 
Surgeon  (properly  a   hand-worker),  a  contraction  of   chirurgeon ;   from 

Gr.  cheir,  the  hand,  and  ergein,  to  work. 
Tackle,  that  which  takes  or  grasps,  holding  the  masts  of  a  ship  in  their 

places.     The  le  is  the  same  as  that  in  settle  (a  seat),  girdle,  etc. 
Tale,  from   A.  S.  talu,  number.      Derivatives  are  tell  and  tiU  (box  for 

money) ,  but  not  talk,  which  is  a  Scandinavian  word. 
Tansy,  a  tall  plant,  with  small  yellow  flowers,  used  in  medicine  ;   from 

0.  F.  athanasie ;  from  Gr.  athanasia,  immortality. 
Thorough,  a  doublet  of  through,  and  found  in  thorough-fare,  thorough- 

hred,  etc.      (The  dr,  thr,  or  tr  is  also  found  in  door,  thrill,  trill,  drill, 

nostril,  etc.) 
Treacle,  from  M.  E.  triacle,  a  remedy;  from  Lat.  theriaca,  an  antidote 

against   the   bite  of   serpents ;    from    Gr.    therion,   a   wild   beast  or 

poisonous    animal.      Milton  has  the  phrase  "  the  sovran  treacle    of 

sound  doctrine."      (For  the  positioH  of  the  r,  compare  trundle  and 

turn;  brid  and  bird;  etc.) 


WORDS   DISGUISED   IN  FORM.  167 

Truffle,  an  underground  edible  fungus  ;  from  Italian  tartufola ;  tar 
being  =  Lat.  tei-rce,  of  the  ground,  and  tuf<jla  =  tuber,  a  root.  Trifle 
is  a  doublet  of  truffle. 

Twig,  a  thin  branch  of  a  tree.  The  tw  here  is  the  base  of  ttvo,  and  is 
found  also  in  twin,  twilir/ht,  twice,  twine ;  and  probably  also  in  ttveak; 
twist,  twinkle,  etc.  {Twit  is  not  in  this  class  ;  it  conies  from  at- 
witan,  to  thi^ow  blame  on.) 

Verdigris  (not  connected  with  grease),  the  rust  of  brass  or  copper.  From 
Lat.  viride  aeris,  the  green  of  brass.  (The  g  is  intrusive,  and  has  not 
vet  been  accounted  for. ) 

"Walrus,  a  kind  of  large  seal  ;  from  Swedish  vallross  =  a  whale-horse. 
The  older  form  of  ross  is  found  in  Icelandic  as  hross,  which  is  a  doub- 
let of  the  A.  S.  hors.  The  noise  made  by  the  animal  somewhat 
resembles  a  neigh. 

Wassail,  a  merry  carouse  ;  from  A.  S.  wes  hael  =  Be  well  !  Was  is  the 
imperative  of  wesan  to  be  (still  existing  in  was) ;  and  hael  is  connected 
with  hail/  hale  (Scand. ),  whole  (Eng.),  and  health. 

Whole,  a  misspelling,  now  never  to  be  corrected,  of  hole,  the  adjective 
connected  with  hale,  heal,  health,  healthy,  etc.  The  w  is  probably  an 
intrusion  from  the  S.  "W.  of  England,  where  they  say  tvhoam  for  home, 
woat  for  oat,  etc.  If  we  write  whole,  we  ought  also  to  write  wlioly 
instead  of  holy. 


WORDS   THAT   HAVE  GREATLY   CHANGED 
IN    MEANING. 


Abandon,  to  proclaim  openly ;  to  de- 
nounce ;  then  to  cast  o'^t.  (From  Low 
Lat.  hannus,  an  edict.)  The  earlier 
meaning  still  survives  in  the  phrase, 
"banns  of  marriage." 

Admire,  to  wonder  at. 

Allow,  to  praise  (connected  with  laud). 

Amuse,  to  cause  to  muse,  to  occujiy  the 
mind  of.  "  Camillus  set  upon  the  Gauls, 
when  they  were  amused  in  receiving 
their  gold,"  says  a  writer  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

Animosity,  high  spirits;  from  Lat.  ani- 

mosus,  brave. 

ArtUlery  (great  weapons  of  war),  was  used 

to  include  bows,  crossbows,  etc.,  down 
to  the  time  of  Milton.  See  P.  L.  ii.  715 ; 
and  1  Sam.  xx.  40. 

Awkward,  going  the  wrong  way.  From 
M.  E.  awk,  contrary.  "The  awk  end" 
was  the  wrong  end.  "With  awkward 
wind  "  =  with  contrary  wind. 

Babe,  doll.     Spenser  says  of  a  pedlar — 
"  He  bore  a  truss  of  trifles  at  his  back. 
As  bells,  and  babes,  and  glasses  in  his 
pack." 

Blackguard,  the  band  of  lowest  kitchen 
servants,  who  had  to  look  after  the  spit.'^, 
pots,  and  pans,  etc. 

Bombast  (an  inflated  and  pompous  style 
of  speaking  or  writing),  cotton-wadding. 

Boor  (a  rough  immannerly  fellow),  a  tiller 
of  the  soil;  from  the  Dutch  ioawen,  to 


till.    (Compound  neighbour.)    In  Soutb 
Africa,  a  farmer  is  still  called  a  boer. 

Brat  (a  contemptuous  name  for  a  child), 
a  Celtic  word  meaning  rag.  In  Wales 
it  now  means  a  pinafore. 

Brave,  showy,  splendid. 

By-and-by,  at  once. 

Carpet,  the  covering  of  tables  as  well  as 
of  floors. 

Carriage  (that  which  carries)  meant  for- 
merly that  which  was  carried,  or  bag- 
gage.    See  Acts  xxi.  15. 

Cattle,  a  doublet  of  chattels,  property. 
Lat.  capitalia,  heads  (of  oxen,  etc.) 
Chaucer  says,  "  The  avaricious  man  hath 
more  hope  in  his  catel  than  in  Christ." 

Censure  (blame)  meant  merely  opinion; 
from  the  Lat.  censeo,  I  think.  Shake- 
speare, in  Hamlet  i.  3.  69,  makes  Polon- 
ius  say:  "Take  each  man's  censure,  but 
reserve  thy  judgment." 

Charity  (almsgiving)  meant  love;  from 
Lat.  cams,  dear,  through  the  French. 

Cheat  (to  deceive  for  the  purpose  of  gain) 
meant  to  seize  upon  a  thing  as  escheated 
or  forfeited. 

Cheer,  face.  "  Be  of  good  cheer  "=  "  Put 
a  good  face  upon  it."  "  His  cheer  fell" 
=  "  His  countenance  fell." 

Churl  (an  uncourteous  or  disobliging  per- 
son) meant  a  countryman.  Der.  chur- 
lish. (Shakespeare  also  uses  the  word 
in  the  sense  of  a  miser.) 


WORDS   THAT   HAVE    GREATLY   CHANGED   IN   MEANING.    169 


Clumsy,  stiff  with  cold.  "When  thou 
clomsest  with  cold,"  says  Langland  (14th 
century)  —  art  benumbed.  (Cognates, 
clamp,  cramp.) 

Companion,  low  fellow.  Shakespeare  has 
such  phrases  as  "  Companions,  hence  I" 

Conceit  (too  high  an  opinion  of  one's  self) 
meant  simply  thought.  Chaucer  was 
called  "a  conceited  cleric "  =  "a  learned 
man  full  of  thoughts."  From  Lat.  con- 
ceptus,  a  number  of  facts  brought  to- 
gether into  one  general  conception  or 
idea.  Shakespeare  has  the  phrase  "  pass- 
ing all  conceit  "  =  beyond  all  thought. 

Count  (to  number)  meant  to  think  (2 
with  3,  &c.)with;  from  Lat.  comiyuto, 
I  compute  or  think  with.  Count  is  a 
doublet,  through  French,  of  compute. 

CuHning,  able  or  skilled.  Like  the  word 
craft,  it  has  lost  its  innocent  sense. 

Danger,  jurisdiction,  legal  power  over. 
The  Duke  of  Venice  says  to  the  Mer- 
chant, "You  stand  withui  his  danger, 
do  you  not?"  M.  V.  iv.  1.  ISO. 

Defy,  to  pronounce  all  bonds  of  faith 
dissolved.     Lat.  fides,  faith. 

Delicious,  too  scrupulous  or  finical.  A 
writer  of  the  seventeenth  century  says 
that  idleness  makes  even  "the  sober- 
est (most  moderate)  men  delicious." 

Depart,  part  or  divide.  The  older  version 
of  the  Prayer-Book  has  "till  death  us 
depart "  (now  corrupted  into  do  part). 

Disaster,  an  unfavourable  star.  A  term 
from  the  old  astrology. 

Disease,  discomfort,  trouble.  Shakespeare 
has,  "  She  will  disease  our  bitter  mirth  ;  " 
and  Tyndale's  version  of  Mark  v.  35,  is, 
"Thy  daughter  is  dead:  why  diseasest 
thou  the  Master  any  further  ?  " 

Duke,  leader.  Hannibal  was  called  in  old 
English  writers,  "Duke  of  Carthage." 

Ebb,  shallow.  "  Cross  the  stream  where 
it  is  ebbest,"  is  a  Lancashire  proverb. 
(The  word  is  a  cognate  of  even.) 

Essay,  an  attempt.  The  old  title  of  such 
a  book  was  not  "  Essay  on  "  but  "  Essay 
at."    From  Lat.   exagium,  a  weighing. 


An  older  form  is  Assay.   Shakespeare  has 
such  phrases  as  "the  assay  of  arms." 

Explode,  to  drive  out  by  clapping  of  the 
hands.  The  opjiosite  of  applaud.  Lat. 
plaudo,  I  clap  my  hands. 

Explosion,  a  hissing  a  thing  off  the  stage. 

Firmament,  that  which  makes  firm  or 
strong.  Jeremy  Taylor  (seventeenth 
century)  says,  "  Custom  is  the  firma- 
ment of  the  law." 

Fond,  foolish.  The  past  participle  of 
A.  S.  fonnan,  to  act  foolishly. 

Frightful,  full  of  fear.  (Compare  the  old 
meaning  of  dreadful.) 

Garble,  to  sift  or  cleanse.  Low  Lat. 
garbellare,  to  sift  eorn. 

Garland,  a  king's  crown ;  now  a  wreath  of 
flowers. 

Gazette  (Italian),  a  magpie.  Hence  the 
Ital.  gazettare,  to  chatter  like  a  magpie; 
to  write  tittle-tattle.  (It  was  also  the 
name  of  a  very  small  coin,  current  in 
Venice,  etc.) 

Generous,  high-born.  Lat.  genus,  race. 
Compare  the  phrases  "  a  man  of  family ; " 
"  a  man  of  rank."  Shakespeare  has  "  the 
generous  citizens"  for  those  of  high 
birth. 

Gossip,  sib  or  related  in  God  ;  a  godfather 
or  godmother.  It  now  means  such  per- 
sonal talk  as  usually  goes  on  among  such 
persons.  (Compare  the  French  commere 
and  covimerage.) 

Handsome,  clever  with  the  hands. 

Harbinger,  a  person  who  prepared  a  har- 
bour or  lodging. 

Heathen,  a  person  who  lives  on  a  heath. 
(Cf.  pagan,  person  who  lives  in  a  pagus, 
or  country  district.) 

Hobby,  an  easy  ambling  nag. 

Idiot  (Gr.  idiotes),  a  private  person  ;  a 
person  who  kept  aloof  from  public  busi- 
ness.    Cf.  idiom;  idiosyncrasy ;  etc. 

Imp,  an  engrafted  shoot.  Chaucer  says : 
"  Of  feeble  trees  there  comen  wretched 

impes." 
Spenser  has  "  Well  worthy  impo." 


170 


GRAMMAR   OF   THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


Impertinent,  not  pertaining  to  the 
matter  in  hand. 

Indifferent,  impartial.  "God  is  indiffer- 
ent to  all." 

Insolent,  unusual.  An  old  writer  praises 
Raleigh's  poetry  as  "insolent  and  pas- 
sionate." 

Kind,  born,  inborn ;  natural ;  and  then 
loving. 

Knave,  boy,  "A  knave  child  "  —  a,  male 
child.  Sir  John  Mandeville  speaks  of 
Mahomet  as  "a  poure  knave." 

Lace,  a  snare.     Lat.  laqueus,  a  noose. 

Livery,  that  which  is  given  or  delivered, 
Fr.  livrer;  from  Lat.  liberare,  to  free. 
It  was  applied  both  to  food  and  to 
clothing.  "Ahorse  at  livery"  stillmeans 
a  horse  not  merely  kept,  but  also  fed. 

Magnificent,  doing  great  things  ;  large- 
minded.  Bacon  says,  "  Bounty  and 
magnificence  are  virtues  very  regal." 

Maker,  a  poet. 

Manure,  to  work  with  the  hand  ;  a  doublet 
of  manoeuvre.     (Lat.  mantis,  the  hand.) 

Mere,  utter.  Lat.  m€rMs,pure.  Shakespeare, 
in  "Othello,"  speaks  of  "the  mere  per- 
dition of  the  Turkish  fleet."  "Mere 
wine  "  was  unmixed  wine. 

Metal,  a  mine. 

Minute,  something  very  small.  Lat.  min- 
utiLS,  made  small ;  from  minus,  less. 
Cognates,  miTior ;  minish;  diminish;  etc. 

Miscreant,  an  unbeliever.  Lat.  mis  (from 
minics),  and  credo,  I  believe ;  through 
O.  Fr.  mescr^ant. 

Miser,  a  wretched  person.  Lat.  miser,  mis- 
erable. 

Nephew,  a  grandchild.    (Lat.  nepos.) 

Nice,  too  scrupulous  or  fastidious.    Shake- 
speare, in  "K.  John,"  iii.  4.  138,  says — 
"  He  that  stands  upon  a  slippery  place, 
Makes  nice  of  no  vile  hold  to  stay  him 
up." 

Niece,  a  grandchild.    Lat.  neptis. 

Novelist,  an  innovator. 


Offal,  that  which  is  allowed  to  fall  oflC 

Officious,  obliging.  In  modern  diplomacy, 
an  official  communication  is  one  made 
in  the  way  of  business  ;  an  officious  com- 
munication is  a  friendly  and  irregular 
one.  Burke,  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
speaks  of  the  French  nobility  as  "very 
officious  and  hospitable." 

Ostler = hosteller.  The  keeper  of  a  hostel 
or  hotel.  (A  comic  derivation  is  that  it 
is  a  contraction  of  oatstealer). 

Painful,  painstaking.  Fuller,  in  the  seven- 
teenth centiu-y,  speaks  of  Joseph  as  "a 
painful  carpenter." 

Palliate,  to  throw  a  cloak  over.  Lat.  pal- 
lium, a  cloak. 

Pencil,  a  small  hair  brush.  Lat.  penecillus, 
a  little  tail. 

Peevish,  obstinate. 

Perspective,  a  glass  for  seeing  either  near 
or  distant  things. 

Pester,  to  encumber  6r  clog.  From  Low 
Lat.  pastoriutn,  a  clog  for  horses  in  a 
pasture. 

Plantation,  a  colony  of  men  planted. 

Plausible,  having  obtained  ajjplause. 
"  Every  one  received  him  plausibly," 
says  a  seventeenth-century  writer. 

Polite,  polished.  A  seventeenth-century 
writer  has  "polite  bodies  as  looking- 
glasses." 

Pomp,  a  procession. 

PreposteroTis,  putting  the  last  first.  Lat. 
prce,  before  ;  and  post,  after. 

Prevaricate,  to  reverse,  to  shuffle.  Lat. 
prcevaricari,  to  spread  the  legs  apart 
in  walking. 

Prevent,  to  go  before.  Lat.  prce,  before, 
and  venio,  I  come.  The  Prayer-Book  has, 
"  Prevent  us,  O  Lord,  in  all  our  doings." 

Prodigious,  ominous.  "A  prodigious 
meteor,"  meant  a  meteor  of  bad  omen. 

Punctual,  attending  to  small  points  of 
detail.    Lat.  pvnctum ;  Fr.  point. 


WORDS   THAT   HAVE    GREATLY   CHANGED   IN   MEANING.    171 


Quaint,  skilful.  Prospero,  in  the  "Tem- 
pest," calls  Ariel  "  My  quaint  Ariel !  " 

Racy,  having  the  strong  and  native  qual- 
ities of  the  race.     Cowley  says  of  a  poet 
that  he  is — 
"  Fraught  with  brisk  racy  verses,  in 

which  we 
The  soil  from  whence  they  come,  taste, 
smell,  and  see." 

Reduce,  to  lead  back. 

Resent,  to  be  fully  sensible  of.  Resent- 
ment, grateful  recognition  of. 

Restive,  obstinate,  inclined  to  rest  or 
stand  still.  "To  turn  rusty"  (  =  resty) 
is  to  turn  obstinate. 

Retaliate,  to  give  back  benefits  as  well  as 
injuries. 

Room,  space,  place  at  table.     Luke  xiv.  8. 

Rummage,  to  make  room. 

Sad,  earnest. 

Sash,  a  turban. 

Secure,  free  from  care.    Ben  Jonson  says : 
"  Men  may  securely  sin ;    but   safely, 
never." 

Sheen,  bright,  pure.  Connected  with 
shine. 

Shrew,  a  wicked  or  hurtful  person. 

SUly,  blessed. 

Sincerity,  absence  of  foreign  admixture. 

Soft,  sweetly  reasonable. 

Spices,  kinds — a  doublet  of  species.  (A 
grocer  in  French  is  called  an  epicier.) 

Starve,  to  die.  Chaucer  says,  "Jesus 
starved  upon  the  cross." 

Sycophant,  "a  fig-shower"  or  informer 
against  a  person  who  smuggled  figs.  Gr. 
sukon,  a  fig ;  and  pftamo,  I  show. 

Table,  a  picture. 


Tarpaulin,  a  sailor ;  from  the  tarred 
canvas  suit  he  wore.  Now  shortened 
into  tar. 

Thews,  habits,  manners. 

Thought,  deep  sorrow,  anxiety.  Matthew 
vi.  25.  In  "Julius  Caesar,"  ii.  1.  187,  we 
find,  "  Take  thought,  and  die  for  Csesar." 

Trivial,  very  common.  Lat.  trivia,  a 
place  where  three  roads  meet. 

Tuition,  guardianship.  Lat.  tuitio,  look- 
ing at. 

Uncouth,  unknown. 

Union,  oneness  ;  or  a  pearl  in  which  size, 
roundness,  smoothness,  purity,  lustre, 
were  united.  See  "Hamlet,"  v.  2.283. 
A  doublet  is  onion — so  called  from  its 
shape. 

Unkind,  unnatural. 

Urbane,  living  in  a  city.  Lat.  urbs,  a 
city. 

Usury,  money  paid  for  the  use  of  a  thing. 

Varlet,  a  serving-man.  Low  Lat.  vassa- 
lettus,  a  minor  vassal.  Varlet  and  valet 
are  diminutives  of  vassal. 

Vermin  was  applied  to  noxious  animals 
of  whatever  size.  "  The  crocodile  is 
a  dangerous  vermin."  Lat.  vermis,  a 
worm. 

Villain,  a  farm-servant.   Lat.  villa,  a  farm. 

Vivacity,  pertinacity  in  living ;  longevity. 
Fuller  speaks  of  a  man  as  "  most  remark- 
able for  his  vivacity,  for  he  lived  140 
years." 

Wit,  knowledge,  mental  ability. 

Worm,  a  serpent. 

Worship,  to  consider  worth,  to  honour. 

Wretched,  wicked.  A.  S.  wrecca,  an  out- 
cast. 


PAET    11. 

COMPOSITION,  PUNCTUATION,  PAEAPHRASING, 
AND  PROSODY. 


HINTS    ON    COMPOSITION, 


1.  Composition  is  the  art  of  putting  sentences  together. 

(i)  Any  one  can  make  a  sentence  ;  but  every  one  cannot  make  a  sen- 
tence that  is  both  clear  and  neat.  We  all  speak  and  write  sentences 
every  day  ;  but  these  sentences  may  be  neat  or  they  may  be  clumsy — • 
they  may  be  pleasant  to  read,  or  they  may  be  dull  and  heavy. 

(ii)  Sir  Arthur  Helps  says  :  "  A  sentence  should  be  powerful  in  ita 
substantives,  choice  and  discreet  in  its  adjectives,  nicely  correct  in  its 
verbs  ;  not  a  word  that  could  be  added,  nor  one  which  the  most  fastid- 
ious would  venture  to  suppress  ;  in  order,  lucid  ;  in  sequence,  logical ; 
in  method,  perspicuous." 

2.  The  manner  in  which  we  put  our  sentences  together  is 

called  style.     That  style  may  be  good  or  bad;  feeble  or  vigorous; 

clear  or  obscure.     The  whole  purpose  of  style,  and  of  studying 

style,  is  to  enable  us  to  present  our  thoughts  to  others  in  a  clear, 

forcible,  and  yet  graceful  way. 

"Style  is  but  the  order  and  the  movement  that  we  put  into  our 
thoughts.  If  we  bind  them  together  closely,  compactly,  the  style  be- 
comes firm,  nervous,  concise.  If  they  are  left  to  follow  each  other 
negligently,  the  style  will  be  diffuse,  slipshod,  and  insipid." — Buffon. 

3.  Good  composition  is  the  result  of  three  things  :  (i)  clear 
thinking ;  (ii)  reading  the  best  and  most  vigorous  writers ;  and 
(iii)  frequent  practice  in  writing,  along  with  careful  polishing  of 
what  we  have  written. 

(i)  "We  ought  to  read  diligently  in  the  best  poets,  historians,  and 
essayists, — to  read  over  and  over  again  what  strikes  us  as  finely  or  nobly 
or  powerfully  expressed, — to  get  by  heart  the  most  striking  passages  in 
a  good  author.  This  kind  of  study  will  give  us  a  large  stock  of  appro- 
priate words  and  striking  phrases  ;  and  we  shall  never  be  at  a  losa  for 
ihe  right  words  to  express  our  own  sense. 


176  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,  ETC. 

Ben  Jonson  says  :  "  For  a  man  to  write  well,  there  are  required 
three  necessaries  :  let  him  read  the  best  authors  ;  observe  the  best 
speakers  ;  and  have  much  exercise  of  his  own  style." 

(ii)  "  My  mother  forced  me,  by  steady  daily  toil,  to  learn  long  chapters 
of  the  Bible  by  heart ;  as  well  as  to  read  it  every  syllable  through,  aloud, 
hard  names  and  all,  from  Genesis  to  the  Apocalypse,  about  once  a-year: 
and  to  that  discipline, — patient,  accurate,  and  resolute, — I  owe,  not  only 
a  knowledge  of  the  book,  but  much  of  my  general  power  of  taking  pains, 
and  the  best  part  of  my  taste  in  literature." — John  Ruskin. 

(iii)  But,  though  much  reading  of  the  best  books  and  a  great  deal  of 
practice  in  composition  are  the  only  means  to  attain  a  good  and  vigorous 
style,  there  are  certain  directions — both  general  and  special — which  may 
be  of  use  to  the  young  student,  when  he  is  beginning. 


GENEEAL   DIEECTIONS. 

4.  We  must  know  the  subject  fully  about  which  we  are  going 

to  write. 

(i)  If  we  are  going  to  tell  a  story,  we  must  know  all  the  circumstances  ; 
the  train  of  events  that  led  up  to  the  result ;  the  relations  of  the  persona 
in  the  story  to  each  other  ;  whab  they  said  ;  and  the  outcome  of  the 
whole  at  the  close.     These  considerations  guide  us  to 

Practical  Rule  I. — Draw  up  on  a  piece  of  paper  a  short 
skeleton  of  what  you  are  going  to  write  about. 

(i)  Archbishop  Whately  says  :  "The  more  briefly  this  is  done,  so  that 
it  does  but  exhibit  clearly  the  heads  of  the  composition,  the  better  ;  be- 
cause it  is  important  that  the  whole  of  it  be  placed  before  the  eye  and 
mind  in  a  small  compass,  and  be  taken  in,  as  it  were,  at  a  glance  ;  and  it 
should  be  written,  therefore,  not  in  sentences,  but  like  a  table  of  contents. 
Such  an  outline  should  not  be  allowed  to  fetter  the  writer,  if,  in  the 
course  of  the  actual  composition,  he  find  any  reason  for  deviating  from 
his  original  plan, — it  should  serve  merely  as  a  trach  to  mark  out  a  path 
for  him,  not  as  a  groove  to  confine  him." 

(ii)  Cobbett  says  :  "  Sit  down  to  write  what  you  have  thought,  and 
not  to  think  what  you  shall  write." 

5.  Our  sentences  must  be  written  in  good  English. 

Good  English  is  simply  the  English  of  the  best  writers  ;  and  we  can 
only  learn  what  it  is  by  reading  the  books  of  these  writers.    Good  writers 


GENEEAL   DIEECTIONS.  177 

of  the  present  century  are  such  authors  as  Charles  Lamb,  Jane  Austen, 
Scott,  Coleridge,  Landor,  Macaulay,  Thackeray,  Dickens,  Matthew 
Arnold,  Froude,  Ruskin,  and  George  Eliot. 

6.  Our  sentences  must  be  written  in  pure  English. 

(i)  This  rule  forbids  the  use  of  obsolete  or  old-fashioned  words,  such 
as  erst,  peradventure,  hight,  beholden,  vouchsafe,  methinJcs,  etc. 

(ii)  It  forbids  also  the  use  of  slang  expressions,  such  as  awfully,  joUy, 
rot,  bosh,  smeU  a  rat,  see  with  half  an  eye,  etc. 

(iii)  It  forbids  the  employment  of  technical  terms,  unless  these  are 
absolutely  necessary  to  express  our  meaning  ;  and  this  is  sure  to  be  the 
case  in  a  paper  treating  on  a  scientific  subject.  But  technical  terms  in 
an  ordinary  piece  of  writing,  such  as  quantitative,  connotation,  anent, 
chromatic,  are  quite  out  of  place. 

(iv)  In  obedience  to  this  rule,  we  ought  also  carefully  to  avoid  the  use 
of  foreign  words  and  phrases.  Affectation  of  all  kinds  is  disgusting ; 
and  it  both  looks  and  is  affected  to  use  such  words  as  confrere,  raison 
d'etre,  amour  propre,  conge,  etc. 

(v)  This  recommendation  also  includes  the  Practical  Rule  :  "  When 
an  English-English  (or  'Saxon')  and  a  Latin-English  word  offer  them- 
selves, we  had  better  choose  the  Saxon." 

(vi)  The  following  is  from  an  article  by  Leigh  Hunt :  "  In  the  Biblo 
there  are  no  Latinisms  ;  and  where  is  the  life  of  our  language  to  be 
found  in  such  perfection  as  in  the  translation  of  the  Bible  ?  We  will 
venture  to  affirm  that  no  one  is  master  of  the  English  language  who  is  not 
well  read  in  the  Bible,  and  sensible  of  its  peculiar  excellences.  It  is  the 
pure  well  of  English.  The  taste  which  the  Bible  forms  is  not  a  taste 
for  big  words,  but  a  taste  for  the  simplest  expression  or  the  clearest 
medium  of  presenting  ideas.  RemarTcable  it  is  that  most  of  the  sublimities 
in  the  Bible  are  conveyed  in  monosyllables.  For  example,  '  Let  there  be 
light :  and  there  was  light. '  Do  these  words  want  any  life  that  Latin 
could  lend  them  ?  .  .  .  The  best  styles  are  the  freest  from  Latinisms  ; 
and  it  may  be  almost  laid  down  as  a  rule  that  a  good  writer  will  never 
have  recourse  to  a  Latinism  if  a  Saxon  word  will  equally  serve  his  purpose. 
We  cannot  dispense  with  words  of  Latin  derivation;  but  there  should 
be  the  plea  of  necessity  for  resorting  to  them,  or  we  wrong  our  English." 

(vii)  At  the  same  time,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  we  very  often 
are  compelled  by  necessity  to  use  Latin  words.  Even  Leigh  Hunt,  in 
the  above  passage,  has  been  obliged  to  do  so  while  declaiming  against  it. 
This  is  apparent  from  the  number  of  words  printed  in  italics,  all  of 
which  are  derived  from  Latin.  This  is  most  apparent  in  the  phrase 
equally  serve  his  purpose,  which  we  could  not  now  translate  into  "  pure  " 
English. 


178 


COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,   ETC. 


7.  Our  sentences  must  be  written  in  accurate  English. 
That  is,  the  words  used  must  be  appropriate  to  the  sense  we 
wish  to  convey.  Accuracy  is  the  virtue  of  using  "the  right 
word  in   the   right  place." 

(i)  "  The  attempt  was  found  to  be  impracticable."  Now,  impracticable 
means  impossible  of  accomplishment.  Any  one  may  attempt  anything ; 
carrying  it  out  is  a  different  thing.  The  word  used  should  have  been 
design  or  plan. 

(ii)  "  The  veracity  of  the  statement  was  called  in  question."  Voracity 
is  the  attribute  of  a  person  ;  not  of  a  statement. 

(iii)  Accurate  English  can  only  be  attained  by  the  careful  study  of  the 
different  shades  of  meaning  in  words  ;  by  the  constant  comparison  of 
synonyms.     Hence  we  may  lay  down  the 

Practical  Rule  II. — Make  a  collection  of  synonyms,  and 
compare  the  meanings  of  each  couple  (i)  in  a  dictionary,  and 
(ii)  in  a  sentence. 

The  following  are  a  few,  the  distinctions  between  which  are 
very  apparent : — 


Abstain 

Forbear. 

Custom 

Habit. 

Active 

Diligent. 

Delay 

Defer. 

Aware 

Conscious. 

Difficulty 

Obstacle. 

Character 

Eeputation. 

Strong 

PowerfuL 

Circumstance 

Event. 

Thmk 

Believe. 

8.  Our  sentences  should  be  perfectly  clear.  That  is,  the 
reader,  if  he  is  a  person  of  ordinary  common-sense,  should  not 
be  left  for  a  moment  in  doubt  as  to  our  meaning. 

(i)  A  Roman  writer  on  style  says  :  "  Care  should  be  taken,  not  that 
the  reader  may  understand  if  he  will,  but  that  he  shall  understand 
whether  he  will  or  not." 

(ii)  Our  sentences  should  be  as  clear  as  "  mountain  water  flowing  over 
a  rock."     They  should  "  economise  the  reader's  attention." 

(iii)  Clearness  is  gained  by  being  simple,  and  by  being  brief. 

(iv)  Simplicity  teaches  us  to  avoid  (a)  too  learned  words,  and  (5/ 
roundabout  ways  of  mentioning  persons  and  things. 

(a)  We  ought,  for  example,  to  prefer — 
Abuse  to  Vituperation.  Neighbourhood  to  Vicinity. 

Begin  ti  Commence.  Trustworthy        ti  Reliable. 

Commence     n  Initiate.  Welcome  »  Reception. 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS.  179 

(b)  We  ought  to  avoid  such  stale  and  hackneyed  phrases  as  the 
"Swan  of  Avon"  for  Shakespeare;  the  "Bard  of  Florence"  for 
Dante  ;  "  the  Great  Lexicographer "  for  Dr  Johnson, 

(v)  Brevity  enjoins  upon  us  the  need  of  expressing  our  meaning  in  as 
few  words  as  possible. 

Opposed  to  brevity  is  verbosity,  or  wordiness.     Pope  says — 

"  Words  are  like  leaves  :   and,  where  they  most  abound, 
Much  fruit  of  sense  beneath  is  rarely  found." 

(vi)  Dr  Johnson  says  :  "  Tediousness  is  the  most  fatal  of  all  faults." 

9.  Our  sentences  should  be  written  in  flowing  English. 
That  is,  the  rhythm  of  each,  sentence  ought  to  be  pleasant  to 
the  ear,  if  read  aloud.     This  axiom  gives  rise  to  two  rules  : — 

Practical  Rule  III. — Write  as  you  would  speak  ! 

(i)  This,  of  course,  points  to  an  antecedent  condition — that  you  must 
be  a  good  reader.  Good  reading  aloud  is  one  of  the  chief  conditions  of 
good  writing.  "  Living  speech,"  says  a  philosophic  writer,  "  is  the  cor- 
rective of  all  style." 

Practical  Rule  IV. — After  we  have  written  our  piece  of  com- 
position, we  should  read  it  aloud  either  to  ourselves  or  to  some 
one  else. 

Thus,  and  thus  only,  shall  we  be  able  to  know  whether  each  sentence 
has  an  agreeable  rhythm. 

Practical  Rule  V. — "  ]S"ever  write  about  any  matter  you  do 
not  well  understand.  If  you  clearly  understand  all  about  your 
matter,  you  will  never  want  thoughts ;  and  thoughts  instantly 
become  words." — Cobbett. 

**  Seek  not  for  words  ;  seek  only  fact  and  thought, 
And  crowding  in  will  come  the  words,  unsought." — Horace. 

"  Know  well  your  subject ;  and  the  words  will  go 
To  the  pen's  point,  with  steady,  ceaseless  flow." — Pentland. 

10.  Our  sentences  should  be  compact. 

(i)  That  is,  they  ought  not  to  be  loose  collections  of  words,  but  firm, 
well-knit,  nervous  organisms. 

(ii)  A  sentence  in  which  the  complete  sense  is  suspended  till  the  close 
is  called  a  period.     Contrasted  with  it  is  the  loose  sentence. 


18Q  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION    ETC. 

(a)  Loose  Sentence.  — The  Puritans  looked  down  with  contempt  on 
the  rich  and  the  eloquent,  on  nobles  and  priests. 

(6)  Period.  —  On  the  rich  and  the  eloquent,  on  nobles  and  priests 
the  Puritans  looked  down  with  contempt. 

(iii)  The  following  is  a  fine  example  of  a  loose  sentence  :  "  Notwith- 
standing his  having  gone,  in  wnnter,  to  Moscow,  where  he  found  the  cold 
excessive,  and  which  confined  him,  without  intermission,  six  weeks  to 
his  room,  we  could  not  induce  him  to  come  home."  This  no  more 
makes  a  sentence  than  a  few  cartloads  of  bricks  thrown  loosely  upon  the 
ground  constitute  a  house. 


EMPHASIS. 

One  object  in  style  is  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  in  a 
forcible  and  yet  agreeable  way  to  the  most  important  parts  of 
our  subject — in  other  words,  to  give  emphasis  to  what  is 
emphatic,  and  to  make  what  is  striking  and  important  strike  the 
eye  and  mind  of  the  reader.  This  purpose  may  be  attained  in 
many  different  ways;  but  there  are  several  easy  devices  that 
will  be  found  of  use  to  us  in  our  endeavour  to  give  weight  and 
emphasis  to  what  we  'svrite.     These  are  : — 

1.  The  ordinary  grammatical  order  of  the  words  in  a  sentence 
may  be  varied  ;  and  emphatic  words  may  be  thrown  to  the 
beginning  or  to  the  end  of  the  sentence.  This  is  the  device 
Bi  Inversion. 

Thus  we  have,  "Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  "Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I  know  :  but  who  are  ye?"  "Some 
he  imprisoned  ;  others  he  put  to  death. "  "  Go  he  must !  "  "  Do  it  he 
shall  !  "  "  They  could  take  their  rest,  for  they  knew  Lord  Strafibrd 
watched.  Him  they  feared,  him  they  trusted,  him  they  obeyed."  "  He 
that  tells  a  lie  is  not  sensible  how  great  a  task  he  undertakes  ;  for,  to 
maintain  one,  he  must  invent  twenty  more."  In  the  last  sentence,  the 
phrase  to  maintain  one  gains  emphasis  by  being  thrown  out  of  ita 
usual  and  natural  position.     But 

Caution  1. — Do  not  go  out  of  your  way  to  invert.  It  has  a 
look  of  affectation.  Do  not  say,  for  example,  "  True  it  is,"  or 
"Of  Milton  it  was  always  said,"  etc.  And  do  not  begin  an 
essay  thus  :  "  Of  all  the  vices  that  disfigure  and  degrade,"  etc. 


EMPHASIS.  181 

2.  The  Omission  of  Conjunctions  gives  force  and  emphasis. 

Thus  Hume  writes :  "  He  rushed  amidst  them  with  his  sword 
drawn,  threw  them  into  confusion,  pushed  his  advantage,  and  gained  a 
complete  victory."     We  may  write  :  "You  say  this  ;  I  deny  it." 

3.  The  use  of  the  Imperative  Mood  gives  liveliness  and 
emphasis. 

Thus  we  find  the  sentence  :  "  Strip  virtue  of  the  awful  authority 
she  derives  from  the  general  reverence  of  mankind,  and  you  rob  her  of 
half  her  majesty."  Here  strip  is  equal  to  If  you  strip;  but  is  much 
more  forcible. 

4.  Emphasis  is  also  gained  by  employing  the  Interrogative 
Form. 

(i)  Thus,  to  say  "  Who  does  not  hope  to  live  long  ? "  is  much  more 
forcible  and  lively  than  "All  of  us  hope  to  live  long." 

(ii)  This  is  a  well-known  form  in  all  impassioned  speech.  Thus,  in 
the  Bible  we  find  :  *'  Your  fathers,  where  are  they  ?  And  the  prophets, 
do  they  live  for  ever  ? " 

5.  The  device  of  Exclamation  may  also  be  employed  to  give 
emphasis ;  but  it  cannot  be  frequently  used,  without  danger  of 
falling  into  affectation. 

Thus  Shakespeare,  instead  of  making  Hamlet  say,  "  Man  is  a  wonder- 
ful piece  of  work,"  etc. — which  would  be  dull  and  flat — writes,  "What 
a  piece  of  work  is  man  !  "  etc. 

6.  Emphasis  may  be  gained  by  the  use  of  the  device  of 
Periphrasis. 

(i)  Thus,  instead  of  saying  "John  built  this  house,"  or  "This  house 
was  built  by  John,"  we  can  say  :  "  It  was  John  who  built  this  house  ;" 
"  It  was  no  other  than  John  who,"  etc. 

7.  Repetition  is  sometimes  a  powerful  device  for  producing 
emphasis ;  but,  if  too  frequently  employed,  it  becomes  a  tire- 
some mannerism. 

(i)  Macaulay  is  very  fond  of  this  device.  He  says  :  "  Tacitus  tells  a 
fine  story  finely,  but  he  cannot  tell  a  plain  story  plainly.  He  stimulates 
till  stimulants  lose  their  power."  Again  :  "  He  aspired  to  the  highest 
— above  the  people,  above  the  authorities,  above  the  laws,  above  his 
country." 


182  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,   ETC. 

(ii)  Its  effect  in  poetry  is  sometimes  very  fine  : — 

"  By  foreign  hands  thy  dying  eyes  were  closed ; 
By  foreign  hands  thy  decent  limbs  coiiiposed ; 
By  foreign  hands  thy  humble  grave  adorned  ; 
By  strangers  honoured,  and  by  strangers  mourned." 

8.  The  device  of  Suspense  adds  to  the  weight  and  emphasis 
of  a  statement ;  it  keeps  the  attention  of  the  reader  on  the 
stretch,  because  he  feels  the  sense  to  be  incomplete. 

(i)  The  suspense  in  the  following  sentence  gives  a  heightened  idea  of 
the  difficulty  of  travelling  :  "  At  last,  with  no  small  difficulty,  and 
after  much  fatigue,  we  came,  through  deep  roads,  storms  of  wind  and 
rain,  and  bad  weather  of  all  kinds,  to  our  journey's  end." 

(ii)  This  device  is  frequent  in  poetry.  Thus  Keats  opens  his  "  Hy- 
perion "  in  this  way  :  — 

"  Deep  in  the  shady  sadness  of  a  vale, 
Far  sunken  from  the  healthy  breath  of  morn. 
Far  from  the  fiery  noon  and  eve's  one  star^ 
Sat  grey-haired  Saturn,  quiet  as  a  stone." 

Here  the  verb  is  kept  to  the  last  line. 

9.  Antithesis  always  commands  attention,  and  is  therefore  a 
powerful  mode  of  emphasising  a  statement.  Eut  antithesis  is 
not  always  at  one's  command ;  and  it  must  not  be  strained  after. 

Macaulay  employs  this  device  with  great  effect.  He  has :  "  The 
Puritans  hated  bear-baiting,  not  because  it  gave  pain  to  the  bear,  but 
because  it  gave  pleasure  to  the  spectators."  Swift  was  very  fond  of  it. 
Thus  he  says  :  "  The  two  maxims  of  a  great  man  at  court  are,  always  to 
keep  his  countenance,  and  never  to  keep  his  word."  Dr  Johnson  has 
this  sentence  :  "  He  was  a  learned  man  among  lords,  and  a  lord  among 
learned  men."     "  He  twice  forsook  his  party  ;  his  principles  never." 

10.  A  very  sharp,  sudden,  and  unexpected  antithesis  is  called 
an  Epigram. 

(i)  Thus  Lord  Bacon,  speaking  of  a  certain  procession  in  Rome,  says  that 
"The  statues  of  Brutus  and  Cassius  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence." 
Macaulay  says  of  the  dirt  and  splendour  of  the  Russian  Ambassadors  : 
"They  came  to  the  English  Court  dropping  pearls  and  vermin." 

(ii)  The  following  are  additional  instances  of  truths  put  in  a  very 
striking  and  epigrammatic  way  :  "  Verbosity  is  cured  by  a  large  vocab- 
ulary" (because  when  you  have  a  large  stock  of  words,  you  will  be 
able  to  choose  the  fittest).  "  We  ought  to  know  something  of  every- 
thing, and  everything  of  something."  "  He  was  born  of  poor  but  dis- 
honest parents."      "When  you   have  nothing  to  say,  say  it."     "He 


DISTINCTNESS    OF   STYLE.  183 

had  nothing  to  do,  and  he  did  it."  "The  better  is  the  enemy  of  the 
good."  "  One  secret  in  education,"  says  Herbert  Spencer,  "  is  to  know- 
how  wisely  to  lose  time."  "Make  haste  slow^ly."  "They  did  nothing 
in  particular  ;  and  did  it  very  well." 

(iii)  But  no  one  should  strain  after  such  a  style  of  writing.     Such  an 
attempt  would  only  produce  smartness,  which  is  a  fatal  vice. 


DISXmCTNESS    OF    STYLE. 

1.  One  great  secret  of  a  good  and  striking  style  is  the  art  of 
Specifieation. 

Professor  Bain  gives  us  an  excellent  example  of  a  vague  and  gen- 
eral, as  opposed  to  a  distinct  and  specific  style  : — 

(a)  Vague.  — "  In  proportion  as  the  manners,  customs,  and  amuse- 
ments of  a  nation  are  cruel  and  barbarous,  the  regulation  of  their 
penal  codes  will  be  severe. " 

(b)  Specific. — "According  as  men  delight  in  battles,  bull-fights,  and 
combats  of  gladiators,  so  will  they  punish  by  hanging,  burning, 
and  crucifying." 

2.  Specification  or  distinctness  of  style  may  be  attained  in 
two  ways  :  (i)  by  the  use  of  concrete  terms ;  and  (ii)  by  the 
use  of  detail. 

3.  A  concrete  or  particular  term  strikes  botb  the  feelings 
and  imagination  with  greater  force  than  an  abstract  or  general 
term  can  do. 

(i)  Let  us  make  a  few  contrasts  : — 

Abstract.  Concrete. 

Quadruped.  Horse. 

Building  materials.  Bricks  and  mortar. 

Old  age.  Grey  hairs. 

Warlike  weapons.  Sword  and  gun. 

Kich  and  poor.  The  palace  and  the  cottage, 

A  miserable  state.  Age,  ache,  and  penury. 

"  I  have  neither  the  necessaries  "  I  have  not  a  crust  of  bread, 

of  life,  nor  the  means  of  pro-  nor  a  penny  to  buy  one," 

curing  them." 

(ii)  Campbell  says  :  "  The  more  general  the  terms  are,  the  picture  is 
the  fainter;  the  more  special,  the  brighter."  "  They  sank  like  lead  in 
the  mighty  waters  "  is  more  forcible  than  "  they  sank  like  metal." 


Ig4  COMPOSITION,    PUNCTUATION,   ETC. 

4.  Details  enable  the  reader  to  form  in  his  mind  a  vivid  pic- 
ture of  the  event  narrated  or  the  person  described ;  and,  before 
beginning  to  write,  we  ought  always  to  draw  up  a  list  of  such 
details  as  are  both  striking  and  appropriate  —  such  details  as 
tend  to  throw  into  stronger  relief  the  chief  person  or  event. 

The  following  is  a  good  example  from  the  eloquent  writer  and 
profound  thinker  Edmund  Burke.  He  is  speaking  of  the  philanthro- 
pist Howard  : — 

"  He  has  visited  all  Europe  to  dive  into  the  depths  of  dungeons ;  to  plunge 
into  the  infections  of  hospitals  ;  to  survey  the  mansions  of  sorrow  and  pain ; 
to  take  the  gauge  and  dimensions  of  misery,  depression,  and  contempt ;  to 
remember  the  forgotten,  to  attend  to  the  neglected,  to  -visit  the  forsaken,  and 
to  compara  and  collate  the  distresses  of  all  men  in  all  countries." 


GEKEEAL    CAUTIO^^S. 

1.  Avoid  the  use  of  threadbare  and  hackneyed  expressions. 
Leave  them  to  people  who  are  in  a  hurry,  or  to  penny-a-liners. 

Instead  of  Writs 

At  the  expiration  of  four  years.  At  tlie  end,  etc. 

Paternal  sentiments.  The  feelings  of  a  father. 

Exceedingly  opulent.  Very  rich. 

Incur  the  danger.  Run  the  risk. 

Accepted  signification.  Usual  meaning. 

Extreme  felicity.  Great  happiness. 

A  sanguinary  engagement.  A  bloody  battle. 

In  the  affirmative.  Yes. 

2.  Be  very  careful  in  the  management  of  pronouns. 

(i)  Cobbett  says :  "  Never  put  an  it  upon  paper  without  thinking 
■well  what  you  are  about.  When  I  see  many  it's  in  a  page,  I  always 
tremble  for  the  writer."  See  also  2  Kings,  xix.  35  :  "And  when  they 
arose  early  in  the  morning,  behold  they  were  all  dead  corpses." 

(ii)  Bolingbroke  has  the  sentence :  "They  were  persons  of  very  moder- 
ate intellects,  even  before  they  were  impaired  by  their  passions."  The 
last  they  ought  to  be  these. 

(iii)  The  sentence,  "  He  said  to  his  patient  that  if  he  did  not  feel 
better  in  half  an  hour,  he  thought  he  had  better  return,"  is  a  clumsy 
sentence,  but  clear  enough  ;  because  we  can  easily  see  that  it  is  ths 
patient  that  is  to  take  the  advice. 


SPECIAL   CAUTIONS,  185 

3.  Be  careful  not  to  use  mixed  metaphors. 

(i)  The  following  is  a  fearful  example  :  "  This  is  the  arrow  of  convic- 
tion, which,  like  a  nail  driven  in  a  sure  place,  strikes  its  roots  downwards 
into  the  earth,  and  bears  fruit  upwards." 

(ii)  Sir  Boyle  Roche,  an  Irish  member,  began  a  speech  thus  :  "  Mr 
Speaker,  I  smell  a  rat,  I  see  him  floating  in  the  air  ;  but,  mark  me, 
I  shall  yet  nip  him  in  the  bud."  A  similar  statement  is  :  "  Lord  Kim- 
berley  said  that  in  taking  a  very  large  bite  of  the  Turkish  cherry  the 
way  had  been  paved  for  its  partition  at  no  distant  day." 

4.  Be  simple,  quiet,   manly,    frank,    and   straightforward  in 
your  style,  as  in  your  conduct.     That  is  :  Be  yourself  1 


SPECIAL    CAUTIONS. 

1.  Avoid  tautology. 

Alison  says  :  "  It  was  founded  mainly  on  the  entire  monopoly  of 
the  whole  trade  with  the  colonies."  Here  entire  and  w^oZg  are  tauto- 
logical ;  for  monopoly  means  entire  ^wssession,  or  possession  of  the  whole. 
"He  appears  to  enjoy  the  universal  esteem  of  all  men."  Here  universal 
is  superfluous. 

2.  Place  the    adverb    as   near  the  word  it  modifies  as   you 
can. 

"  He  not  only  found  her  employed,  but  also  pleased  and  tranquil." 
The  not  only  belongs  to  employed,  and  should  therefore  go  with  it. 

3.  Avoid  circumlocution. 

"  Her  Majesty,  on  reaching  Perth,  partook  of  breakfast."  This 
should  be  simply  breakfasted.  But  the  whole  sentence  should  be  recast 
into  :   "  On  reaching  Perth,  the  Queen  breakfasted  in  the  station." 

4.  Take  care  that  your  participles  are  attached  to  nouns,  and 

that  they  do  not  run  loose. 

"Alarmed  at  the  news,  the  boat  was  launched  at  once."  Here 
alarmed  can,  grammatically,  agree  with  boat  only.  The  sentence 
should  be  :  "  The  men,  alarmed  at  the  news,  launched  their  boat  at 
©nee. " 

5.  Use  a  present  participle  as  seldom  as  possible. 

(i)  "  I  have  documents  proving  this  "  is  not  so  strong  as  "  to  prove 
this," 


]86  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,  ETC. 

(ii)  "  He  dwelt  a  long  time  on  the  advantages  of  swift  steamers,  thus 
accounting  for  the  increase,"  etc.  The  phrase  "  thus  accounting  ''  is  very- 
loose.     Every  sentence  ought  to  be  neat,  firm,  and  compact. 

6.  Remember   that  who  =  and   he   or   for   he ;   while   that 

introduces  a  merely  adjectival  clause. 

"  I  heard  it  from  the  doctor,  who  told  the  gardener  that-works-for- 
the-coUege."  Here  who  — and  he;  and  that  introduces  the  adjectival 
sentence. 

7.  Do  not  change  the  Subject  of  your  Sentence. 

(i)  Another  way  of  putting  this  is  :  '"'  Preserve  the  unity  of  the 
sentence  ! " 

(ii)  "Archbishop  Tillotson  died  in  this  year.  He  was  exceedingly 
beloved  both  by  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  who  nominated  Dr 
Tenison  to  succeed  him."  The  last  statement  Sihout  nominating  another 
bishop  has  no  natural  connection  with  what  goes  before. 

(iii)  "  After  we  came  to  anchor,  they  put  me  on  shore,  where  I  was 
welcomed  by  all  my  friends,  wlio  received  me  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness." This  sentence  ought  to  be  broken  into  two.  The  first  should 
end  with  on  shore ;  and  the  second  begin  "  Here  I  was  met  and,  etc." 

8.  See  that  who  or  which  refers  to  its  proper  antecedent. 

"  Shakespeare  married  Anne  Hathaway,  the  daughter  of  a  yeoman, 
to  whom  he  left  his  second-best  bed."  Here  the  grammatical  antece- 
dent is  yeoman';  but  the  historical  and  sense-antecedent  is  certainly 
daughter. 

9.  Do  not  use  and  which  for  which. 

(i)  "  I  bought  him  a  very  nice  book  as  a  present,  and  which  cost  me 
ten  shillings."     The  and  is  here  worse  than  useless. 

(ii)  If  another  tohich  has  preceded,  of  course  and  which  is  right. 

10.  Avoid  exaggerated  or  too  strong  language. 

Unprecedented,  most  extraordinary,  incalculable,  boundless,  extremely, 
awfully,  scandalous,  stupendous,  should  not  be  used  unless  we  know  that 
they  are  both  true  and  appropriate. 

11.  Be    careful   not    to    mix  up   dependent   with   principal 
sentences. 

"  He  replied  that  he  wished  to  help  them,  and  intended  to  give 
orders  to  his  servants."  Here  it  is  doubtful  whether  intended  is  co- 
ordinate with  replied  or  with  wished.  If  the  former  is  the  case,  th**n 
we  ought  to  say  he  intended. 


PUNCTUATION.  187 

12.  Be  very  careful  about  the  right  position  of  each  phrase 
or  clause  in  your  sentence. 

The  following  are  curious  examples  of  dislocations  or  misplace- 
ments :  "  A  piano  for  sale  by  a  lady  about  to  cross  the  Channel  in  an 
oak  case  with  carved  legs,"  "I  believe  that,  when  he  died,  Cardinal 
Mezzofanti  Bpoke  at  least  fifty  languages,"  "  He  blew  out  his  brains 
after  bidding  his  wife  good-bye  with  a  gun."  "  Erected  to  the  memory 
of  John  Phillips,  accidentally  shot,  as  a  mark  of  affection  by  his 
brother,"  "  The  Board  has  resolved  to  erect  a  building  large  enough 
to  accommodate  500  students  three  storeys  high,"  "Mr  Carlyle.has 
tau{{ht  us  that  silence  is  golden  in  thirty -seven  volumes." 

PUNCTUATION. 

2.  Certain  signs,  called  points,  are  used  in  sentences  to  mark 
off  their  different  parts,  and  to  show  the  relation  of  each  part  to 
the  organic  whole. 

(i)  Putting  in  the  right  points  is  called  punctuation,  from  the  Latin 
j>unctum,  a  point.     From  the  same  word  come  punctual  and  punctuality. 

2.  These  points  are  the  full  stop,  the  eolon,  the  semicolon, 
the  dash,  and  the  comma. 

3.  The  full  stop  (.)  or  period  marks  the  close  of  a  sentence. 

4.  The  colon  ( : )  introduces  (i)  a  new  statement  that  may 
be  regarded  as  an  after-thought ;  or  (ii)  it  introduces  a  cata- 
logue of  things ;  or  (iii)  it  introduces  a  formal  speech. 

(The  word  colon  is  Greek,  and  means  limb  or  member.) 
(i)  "  Study  to  acquire  a  habit  of  accurate  expression  :  no  study  is 
more  important," 

(ii)  "  Then  follow  excellent  parables  about  fame  :  as  that  she  gathereth 
strength  in  going  ;  that  she  goeth  upon  the  ground,  and  yet  hideth  her 
head  in  the  clouds  ;  that  in  the  day-time  she  sitteth  in  a  watch-tower, 
and  flieth  most  by  night." — Bacon. 

(iii)  "  Mr  "Wilson  rose  and  said  :  'Sir,  I  am  sorry,'  etc." 

5.  The  semicolon  is  employed  when,  for  reasons  of  sound  or 
of  sense,  two  or  more  simple  sentences  are  thrown  into  one. 

{Semicolon  is  Greek,  and  means  half  a  colon.) 

(i)  "  In  the  youth  of  a  state,  arms  do  flourish  ;  in  the  middle  age  of 


188  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,    ETC. 

a  state,  learning  ;  and  then  both  of  them  together  for  a  time  ;  in  the 
declining  age  of  a  state,  mechanical  arts  and  merchandise.'' — Bacon. 

(ii)  Learn  from  the  birds  what  foods  the  thickets  yield  ; 
Learn  from  the  beasts  the  physic  of  the  field  ; 
Thy  arts  of  building  from  the  bee  receive  ; 
Learn  of  the  mole  to  plough,  the  worm  to  weave." — Pope. 

8.  The  dash,  is  used  (i)  to  introduce  an  amplification  or  ex- 
planation ;  and  (ii)  two  dashes  are  often  employed  in  place  of 
the  old  parenthesis. 

(i)  "  During  the  march  a  storm  of  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning  came 
on — a  storm  such  as  is  only  seen  in  tropical  countries. " 

(ii)  "  Ribbons,  buckles,  buttons,  pieces  of  gold-lace — any  trifles  he  had 
"Worn — were  stored  as  priceless  treasures." 

7.  The  comma  is  used  to  indicate  a  strong  pause,  either  of 
sense  or  of  sound. 

(i)  It  is  true  that  the  comma  is  the  weakest  of  all  our  stops  ;  but 
there  are  many  pauses  w^hich  we  ought  to  make  in  reading  a  sentence 
aloud  that  are  not  nearly  strong  enough  to  warrant  a  comma. 

(ii)  It  is  better  to  understop  rather  than  to  overstop.  For  example, 
the  last  part  of  the  last  sentence  in  the  paragraph  above  might  have 
been  printed  thus  :  "  there  are  many  pauses,  which  we  ought  to  make, 
in  reading  a  sentence  aloud,  that  are  not  nearly  strong  enough  to  war- 
rant a  comma."  This  is  the  old-fashioned  style  ;  but  such  sprinkling  of 
commas  is  not  at  all  necessary. 

(iii)  Two  things  are  all  that  are  required  to  teach  us  the  use  of  a 
comma :  (a)  observation  of  the  custom  of  good  writers  ;  and  (6)  careful 
consideration  of  the  sense  and  build  of  our  own  sentences. 

(iv)  The  following  are  a  few  special  uses  of  the  comma : — 
(a)  It  may  be  used  in  place  of  and : — 

"  We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 
(&)  After  an  address  :  "  John,  come  here. " 

(c)  After  certain  introductory  adverbs,  as  however,  at  length,  at 
last,  etc.     "  He  came,  however,  in  time  to  catch  the  train." 

8.  The  point  of  interrogation  (?)  is  placed  at  the  end  of  a 
question. 

9.  The  point  of  admiration  (!)  is  employed  to  mark  a  state- 
ment which  calls  for  surprise  or  wonder ;  but  it  is  now  seldom 
used. 


FIGURES   OF  SPEECH.  189 


FIG-URBS   OP    SPEECH. 

1.  The  mind  naturally  tends,  especially  when  in  a  state  of 

excitement,  to  the  use  of  what  is  called  figurative  language. 

It  is  as  if  we  called  upon  all  the  things  we  see  or  have  seen  to 

come  forward  and  help  us  to  express  our  overmastering  emotions. 

In  fact,  the  external  shows  of  nature  are  required  to  express  the 

internal  movements  of  the  mind ;  the  external  world  provides  a 

language  for  the  internal  or  mental  world.     Hence  we  find  all 

language  full  of  figures  of  speech.     Though  we  do  not  notice 

them  at  the  time,  we  can  hardly  open  our  mouths  without  using 

them.     As  Eutler  says  in  his  famous  poem  : — 

"  For  Hudibras, — he  could  not  ope 
His  mouth,  but  out  there  flew  a  trope."  ^ 

We  speak  of  a  town  being  stormed;  of  a  clear  head ;  a  hard 
heart;  winged  words;  gloivmg  eloquence ;  virgin  snow,  di  torrent 
of  words;  the  thirsty  ground;  the  angry  sea.  We  speak  of 
God's  Word  being  a  light  to  our  feet  and  a  lamp  to  our  path. 

2.  This  kind  of  language  has  been  examined,  classified,  and 
arranged  under  heads  ;  and  the  chief  figures  of  speech  are  called 
Simile,  Metaphor,  Personification,  Allegory,  Synecdoche, 
Metonymy,  and  Hyperbole. 

3.  A  Simile  is  a  comparison  that  is  limited  to  one  point. 
"Jones  fought  like  a  lion."  Here  the  single  point  of  likeness 
between  Jones  and  the  lion  is  the  bravery  of  the  fighting  of 
each. 

{Simile  comes  from  the  Latin  similis,  like.) 

(i)  "  His  spear  was  like  the  mast  of  a  ship."  "  His  salt^  teres  striken 
down  like  rain,"  says  Chaucer.  "Apollo  came  like  the  night,"  says 
Homer.  "  His  words  fell  soft,  like  snow  upon  the  ground,"  are  the 
words  used  by  Homer  in  speaking  of  Ulysses,  "''  It  stirs  the  heart 
like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet "  said  Sir  Philip  Sidney  in  speaking  of 
the  ballad  of  "Chevy  Chase."  Tennyson  admirably  compares  a  miller 
covered  with  flour  to  "a  working-bee  in  blossom-dust." 


^  A  trope — from  Greek  trSpos,  a  turning.  A  word  that  has  been  turned 
from  its  ordinary  and  primary  use.  From  the  same  root  come  tropics 
and  tropical. 


190  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,  ETC. 

4.  A  Metaphor  is  a  simile  with  the  words  like  or  as  left  out. 
Instead  of  saying  "  Eoderick  Dhu  fought  like  a  lion,"  we  use  a 
metaphor,  and  say  "  He  was  a  lion  in  the  fight." 

{Metaphor  is  a  Greek  word  meaning  transference.) 

(i)  All  language,  as  we  have  seen,  is  full  of  metaphors.  Hence  lan- 
guage has  been  called  "fossil  poetry."  Thus,  even  in  very  ordinary 
prose,  we  may  say,  "the  wish  is  father  to  the  thought;"  "the  news 
was  a  dagger  to  his  heart;"  or  we  speak  of  the  fire  of  passion;  of  a 
ray  of  hope  ;  a  flash  of  wit ;  a  thought  striking  us  ;  and  so  on. » 

(ii)  By  frequent  use,  and  by  forgetfulness,  many  metaphors  have  lost 
their  figurative  character.  Thus  we  use  the  words  provide  (to  see 
beforehand),  edify  (to  build  up),  express  (to  squeeze  out),  detect  (to 
unroof),  ruminate  (to  chew  the  cud),  without  the  smallest  feeling  of 
their  metaphorical  character. 

(iii)  We  must  never  mix  our  metaphors.  It  will  not  do  to  say  :  "  In 
a  moment  the  thunderbolt  was  on  them,  deluging  the  country  with 
invaders."  "  I  will  now  emharJc  upon  the  feature  on  which  this  question 
mainly  hinges." 

(iv)  Metaphors  and  similes  may  be  mixed.     Thus  Longfellow  i— 

^  ,     ,  /  The  day  is  done  ;  and  the  darkness 

P       '■*  \      Falls  from  the  wings  of  night, 

„.    .,  j  As  a  feather  is  wafted  downward 

®' (      From  an  eagle  in  his  flight. 

(v)  A  metaphor  is  a  figure  in  which  the  objects  compared  are  treated 
by  the  mind  as  identical  for  the  time  being.  A  simile  simply  treats 
them  as  resembling  one  another  ;  and  the  mind  keeps  the  two  carefully 
apart. 

5.  Personification  is  that  figure  by  which,  under  the  influence 
of  strong  feeling,  we  attribute  life  and  mind  to  impersonal  and 
inanimate  things. 

(i)  Thus  we  speak,  in  poetic  and  impassioned  language,  of  pale  Fear  ; 
gaunt  Famine ;  green-eyed  Jealousy  ;  and  lohite-handed  Hope.  The  morn- 
ing is  said  to  laugh;  the  winds  to  whisper;  the  oaks  to  sigh  ;  and  the 
brooks  to  prattle. 

(ii)  Milton,  in  the  '  Paradise  Lost,'  ix.  780,  thus  describes  the  fall  of 
Eve:— 

"  So  saying,  her  rash  hand  in  evil  hour 
Forth  reaching  to  the  fruit,  she  plucked,  she  ate  ! 
Earth  felt  the  wound  ;  and  Nature,  from  her  seat, 
SigMng  through  all  her  works,  gave  signs  of  W06 
That  all  was  lost." 


FIGURES   OF   SPEECH.  191 

Shelley's  *  Cloud '  is  one  long  personification. 

(iii)  When  the  personified  object  is  directly  addressed,  the  figure  is 
called  Apostrophe.  Thus  we  have,  "  0  Death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 
0  Grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? " 

6.  An  Allegory  is  a  continuous  personification  in  the  fomi  of 
a  story. 

(i)  The  genus  is  personification  ;  the  differentia,  a  story  ;  and  the 
species  is  an  allegory. 

(ii)  Milton's  "  Death  and  Sin,"  in  the  tenth  book  of  the  '  Paradise 
Lost,'  is  a  short  allegory.  Spenser's  '  Faerie  Queene '  and  Bunyan'a 
'  Pilgrim's  Progress  '  are  long  allegories. 

(iii)  A  short  allegory  is  called  a  Fable. 

7.  Synecdoche  is  that  figure  of  speech  by  which  a  part  is 
put  for  the  -whole.  Thus  we  say,  in  a  more  striking  fashion, 
bread  instead  of /oocZ  y  o.  cut-throat  for  a  murderer;  fifty  sail  for 
fifty  ships;  all  hands  at  work. 

(i)  Lear,  in  the  height  of  his  mad  rage  against  his  daughters,  shouts, 
I  abjure  all  roofs  I " 

(ii)  The  name  of  the  material — as  a  part  of  the  whole  production — is 
sometimes  used  for  the  thing  made  :  as  cold  steel  for  the  sword ;  the 
marble  speaks  ;  the  canvas  glows. 

8.  Metonymy  is  that  figure  of  speech  by  which  a  thing  is 
named,  not  with  its  own  name,  but  by  some  accompaninient. 
Thus  we  say,  the  crown  for  the  king;  the  sword  for  phtjsical 
force. 

(The  word  metonymy  is  a  Greek  word  meaning  change  of  names. ) 

We  write   the   ermine   for  the   bench   of  judges;    the    mitre  for   the 
bishops;  red  tape  for  official  routine;  a  long  purse  for  a  great  deal  of 
'  money  ;  the  bottle  for  habits  of  drunkenness. 

9.  Hyperbole  or  Exaggeration  is  a  figure  by  which  much 
more  is  said  than  is  literally  true.  This  is  of  course  the  re- 
sult of  very  strong  emotion. 

(i)  Milton  says  : — 

"  So  frowned  the  mighty  combatants,  that  hell 
Grew  darker  at  their  frown." 

(ii)  Scott,  in  *  Kenilworth,'  has  this  passage  :  "  The  mind  of  England's 
Elizabeth  was  like  one  of  those  ancient  Druidical  monuments  called 


192  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,   ETC. 

rocking-stones.  The  finger  of  Cupid,  boy  as  he  is  painted,  could  put 
her  feelings  in  motion  ;  but  the  power  of  Hercules  could  not  have  de- 
stroyed their  equilibrium." 

10.   The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  chief  of  the  above 
statements  : — 

1.  A  Figure    of    Speech  employs  a  vivid  or  striking  image 

of  something   without    to    express  a  feeling    or    idea 
vrithin. 

2.  A  Simile  uses  an  external  image  with  the  word  like. 

3.  A  Metaphor  uses  the  same  image  without  the  word  like. 

4.  A  Personification  is  a  metaphor  taken  from  a  person  or 

livinsj  being. 

5.  An  allegory  is  a  continuous  personification. 


PARAPHRASING. 

1.  Paraphrasing  is  a  kind  of  exercise  that  is  not  without 
its  uses.  These  uses  are  chiefly  two  :  (i)  to  bind  the  learner's 
attention  closely  to  every  word  and  phrase,  meaning  and  shade 
of  meaning ;  and  (ii)  to  enable  the  teacher  to  see  whether 
the  learner  has  accurately  and  fully  understood  the  passage. 
But  no  one  can  hope  to  improve  on  the  style  of  a  poem  by 
turning  the  words  and  phrases  of  the  poet  into  other  language ; 
the  change  made  is  always — or  almost  always — a  change  for  the 
worse. 

2.  Passages  from  good  prose  writers  are  sometimes  given  out 
to  paraphrase,  but  most  often  passages  from  poetical  writers. 
The  reason  of  this  is  that  poetry  is  in  general  much  more  highly 
compressed  than  prose,  and  hence  the  nieaning  is  sometimes 
obscure,  for  want  of  a  little  more  expansion.  The  following 
lines  by  Sir  Henry  "Wotton,  the  Provost  of  Eton  College,  are 
a  good  example  of  much  thought  compressed  within  a  little 
space : — 


PAEAPHKASING.  193 


THE   HAPPY  LIFE. 


1.  How  happy  is  he  born  and  taught 
That  serveth  not  another's  will — 
Whose  armour  is  his  honest  thought, 
And  simple  truth  his  utmost  skill ! 

2.  Whose  passions  not  his  masters  are, 
Whose  soul  is  still  prepared  for  death— 
!Not  tied  unto  the  worldly  care 

Of  public  fame  or  private  breath  ! 

3.  Who  envies  none  that  chance  doth  raise, 
Or  vice  ;  who  never  understood 

How  deepest  wounds  are  given  by  praise ; 
Nor  rules  of  state,  but  rules  of  good ; 

4.  Who  hath  his  life  from  humours  freed. 
Whose  conscience  is  his  strong  retreat ; 
Whose  state  can  neither  flatterers  feed, 
Nor  ruin  make  accusers  great ; 

5.  Who  God  doth  late  and  early  pray 
More  of  His  grace  than  gifts  to  lend  ; 
And  entertains  the  harmless  day 
With  a  well-chosen  book  or  friend  : — 

6.  This  man  is  freed  from  servile  bands 
Of  hope  to  rise,  or  fear  to  fall — 
Lord  of  himself,  though  not  of  lands  ; 
And,  having  nothing,  yet  hath  all. 

3.  Let  US  try  now  to  paraphrase  these  lines — that  is,  to  de- 
velop the  thought  by  the  aid  of  more  words.  But,  though  we 
are  obliged  to  use  more  words,  we  must  do  our  utmost  to  find  and 
to  employ  the  most  fitting.  We  must  not  merely  throw  down 
a  mass  of  words  and  phrases,  and  leave  the  reader  to  make  his 
own  selection  and  to  grope  among  them  for  the  meaning. 

1.  How  happy,  by  birth  as  well  as  by  education,  is  the  man  who  is  not 
obliged  to  be  a  slave  to  the  will  of  another — whose  only  armour  is  his 
honesty  and  simple  goodness,  whose  best  and  utmost  skill  Hes  in  plain 
straightforwardness. 

2.  How  happy  is  the  man  who  is  not  the  slave  of  his  own  passions, 
whose  soul  is  always  prepared  for  death,  who  is  not  tied  to  the  world 
or  the  world's  opinion  by  anxiety  about  his  public  reputation  or  the 
tattle  of  individuals. 


194  COMPOSITION,  PUNCTUATION,  ETC. 

3.  Happy,  too,  because  he  envies  no  man  who  has  been  raised  to  rank 
by  accident  or  by  vicious  means  ;  because  he  never  understood  the  snee* 
that  stabs  while  it  seems  to  praise  ;  because  he  cares  nothing  for  rulea 
of  expediency  or  of  policy,  but  thinks  only  of  what  is  good  and  right. 

4.  Who  has  freed  himself  from  obedience  to  humours  and  to  whims, 
whose  conscience  is  his  sure  stronghold  ;  whose  rank  is  not  exalte(\ 
enough  to  draw  flatterers,  or  to  tempt  accusers  to  build  their  own 
greatness  upon  his  fall. 

5.  "Who,  night  and  morning,  asks  God  for  grace,  and  not  for  gifts  •, 
and  fills  his  day  with  the  study  of  a  good  book  or  conversation  with 
a  thoughtful  friend. 

6.  This  man  is  freed  from  the  slavery  of  hope  and  fear — the  hope  of 
rising,  the  fear  of  falling — lord,  not  of  lands,  but  of  himself ;  and  though 
without  wealth  or  possessions,  yet  having  all  that  the  heart  of  man  need 
desire. 


THE    GRAMMAR    OF    VERSE,    OR    PROSODY. 

1.  Verse  is  the  form  of  poetry ;  and  Prosody  is  the  part  of 
Grammar  which  deals  with  the  laws  and  nature  of  verse. 

(i)  Verse  comes  from  the  Latin  versa,  turned.  Oratio  versa  was 
"turned  speech  " — that  is,  when  the  line  came  to  an  end,  the  reader  or 
■WT-iter  or  printer  had  to  begin  a  new  line.  It  is  opposed  to  oratio 
prorsa,  which  means  "straight-on  speech" — whence  our  word  prose.  A 
line  in  prose  maij  be  of  any  length  ;  a  line  in  verse  must  be  of  the  length 
which  the  poet  gives  to  it. 

(ii)  It  is  of  importance  for  us  to  become  acquainted  with  the  laws  of 
verse.  First,  because  it  enables  us  to  enjoy  poetry  more.  Secondly,  it 
enables  us  to  read  poetry  better — and  to  avoid  putting  an  emphasis  on 
a  syllable,  merely  because  it  is  accented.  Thirdly,  it  shows  us  how  to 
write  verse  ;  and  the  writing  of  verse  is  very  good  practice  in  composition 
— as  it  compels  us  to  choose  the  right  phrase,  and  makes  us'  draw  upon 
our  store  of  words  to  substitute  and  to  improve  here  or  there. 

2.  Verse  differs  from  prose  in  two  things  :  (i)  in  the  regular 
recurrence  of  accents ;  and  (ii)  in  the  proportion  of  un- 
accented to  accented  syllables. 

(i)  Thus,  in  the  line 

In  an'swer  nought'  could  An'gus  apeak', 
tho  accent  occurs  regularly  in  every  second  syllable. 


THE   GRAMMAR  OF  VERSE,   OR  PROSODY.  195 

(ii)  But,  in  the  line 

Mer'rily,  iner'rily,  shall'  we  live  now', 

the  accent  not  only  comes  first,  but  there  are  two  unaccented  eyllablea 
for  every  one  that  is  accented  (except  in  the  last  foot). 

3.  Every  English  word  of  more  than  one  syllable  has  an 
accent  on  one  of  its  syllables. 

(i)  Begin',  commend',  attach'  have  the  accent  on  the  last  syllable. 
(ii)  Hap'fy,  la'dy,  wel'come  have  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable. 

4.  English  verse  is  made  up  of  lines ;  each  line  o^  verse  con- 
tains  a  fixed  number  of  accents ;  each  accent  has  a  fixed 
number  of  unaccented  syllables  attached  to  it. 

(i)  Let  us  take  these  lines  from  '  Marmion '  (canto  v.)  : — 

"Who  loves'  I  not  more'  |  the  night'  |  of  June' 
Than  dull'  |  Decern'  |  ber's  gloom'  |  of  noon'  ? 

Each  line  here  contains  four  accents  ;  the  accented  syllable  comes  last ; 
each  accented  syllable  has  one  unaccented  attached  to  it. 

(ii)  Now  let  us  compare  these  lines  from  T.  Hood's  "  Bridge  of  Sighs  "  : 

Touch'  her  not  |  scorn'fully. 
Think'  of  her  |  mourn'fully. 

Each  line  here  contains  two  accents  ;  the  accented  syllable  comes  first ; 
and  each  accented  syllable  has  two  unaccented  syllables  attached  to  it. 

5.  One  accented  syllable  +  one  or  two  unaccented,  taken 
together,  is  called  a  foot.      A  foot  is  the  unit  of  metre. 

Let  X  stand  for  an  unaccented,  and  a  for  an  accented  syllable. 

6.  One  accented  preceded  by  one  unaccented  syllable  is 
called  an  Iambus.  Its  formula  is  xa. — One  accented  syllable 
followed  by  one  unaccented  is  called  a  Trochee.  Its  formula 
is  ax. 

(i)  The  following  are  iambuses:  Perhaps' ;  condemn' ;  compel';  with- 
out'; career'. 

(ii)  The  following  are  trochees  :  Gen' tie ;  riv'er;  la'dy ;  ra'ven ;  tum'hle, 

(iii)  The  following  verse  is  made  up  of  four  iambuses — that  is,  it  i^ 
iambic  verse : — 

'Twere  long',  |  and  need'  |  less,  here'  |  to  tell' 
How  to  my  hand  these  papers  fell. 


X96  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,  ETC. 

(iv)  The  following  verse  is  made  up  of  four  trochees — that  is,  it  is 
trochaic  ; — 

In'  his  I  cham'ber,  I  •weak'  and  |  dy'ing 
Was  the  Norman  baron  lying. 

(v)  lam'  I  bics  march'  |  from  short'  ]  to  long'. 

(vi)  Tro'chee  |  trips'  from  |  long'  to  |  short'  —  j  . 

7.  One  accented  syllable  preceded  by  two  unaccented  is 
called  an  Anapaest.  Its  formula  is  xxa. — One  accented  syl- 
lable followed  by  two  unaccented  is  called  a  Dactyl.  Its 
formula  is  axx. 

(i)  The  following  are  anapaests  :  Serenade' ;  disappear' ;  comprehend ; 
intercede'. 

(ii)  The  following  are  dactyls  :  Hap'pily ;  mer'rily;  sim'ilar ;  hil'lowy. 

(iii)  The  following  lines  are  in  anapaestic  verse  : — 

I  am  mon'  |  arch  of  all'  |  I  survey*. 
My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute. 

(iv)  With  a  leap'  [  and  a  bound'  |  the  swift  an'  j  apaests  throng'  j  , 

(v)  The  following  are  in  dactylic  verse  : — 

Can'non  to  |  right'  of  them  j 
Can'non  to  |  left'  of  them  |. 

(a)  The  word  dactyl  comes  from  the  Greek  dakttilos,  %  finger. 
For  a  finger  has  one  long  and  two  short  joints. 

(6)  The  word  anapcest  comes  from  two   Greek  words  :   paio,    I 
strike,  and  ana,  back  ;  because  it  is  the  reverse  of  a  dactyl. 

8.  The  Anapaest  belongs  to  the  same  kind  or  system  of  verse 
as  the  Iambus  ;  because  the  accented  syllable  in  each  comes  last. 
— The  Dactyl  belongs  to  the  same  kind  or  system  of  verse  as 
the  Trochee ;  because  the  accented  syllable  in  each  comes  first. 

(i)  Hence  anapaests  and  iambuses  may  be  mixed  (as  in  "My  right'  | 
there  is  none'  |  to  dispute'  |  ");  and  so  may  dactyls  and  trochees  (as  in 
"  Hark'  to  the  ]  sum'mons  |  "). 

(ii)  But  we  very  seldom  see  a  trochee  introduced  into  an  iambic  line  ; 
or  an  iambus  into  a  trochaic. 

9.  An  accented  syllable  with  one  unaccented  syllable  on  each 
side  of  it  is  called  an  Amphibrach.      Its  formula  is  xax. 

The  word  amphibrach  comes  from  two  Greek  words  :  amphi,  on  both 
sides;  and  hrachus,  short.     (Compare  amphibious.) 


THE   GRAMMAR   OF   VERSE,   OR   PROSODl^  197 

(i)  The  following  are  amphibrachs  :  Despair' irig ;  almight'y;  tr emend' - 
ous;  deceit'ful. 

(ii)  The  following  is  an  amphibrachic  line  : — 

There  came'  to  |  the  beach'  a  1  poor  ex'ile  |  of  E'rin  [. 

10.  A  verse  made  up  of  iambuses  is  called  Iambic  Yerse ; 
of  trochees,  Trochaic ;  of  anapaests,  Anapaestic ;  and  of  dactyls. 
Dactylic. 

11.  A  verse  of  three  feet  is  called  Trimeter;  of  four  feet, 

Tetrameter;  of  five  feet.  Pentameter;  and  of  six  feet,  Hex- 

am.eter. 

(i)  We  find  the  prefixes  of  these  words  in  Triangle ;  Tetrarch  (a  ruler 
over  a  fourth  part) ;  Pentateuch  (the  Jive  books  of  Moses) ;  and  Hexagon 
(a  figure  with  six  corners  or  angles). 

12.  By  much  the  most  usual  kind  of  verse  in  English  is 

Iambic  Verse. 

(i)  Iambic  Tetrameter  (4xa)  is  the  metre  of  most  of  Scott's  poems  ; 
of  Coventry  Patmore's  "Angel  in  the  House";  of  Gay's  Fables,  and 
many  other  poems  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

(ii)  Iambic  Pentameter  (5xa)  is  the  most  common  line  in  English 
Terse.  There  are  probably  more  than  a  thousand  iambic  pentameter 
lines  for  one  that  there  exists  of  any  other  kind.  Iambic  Pentameter  is 
the  verse  of  Chaucer,  of  Shakespeare,  of  Milton,  of  Dryden,  of  Pope,  and 
of  almost  all  our  greater  English  poets. 

13.  Ehymed  Iambic  Pentameter  is  called  Heroic  Verse ;  un- 

rhymed,  it  is  called  Blank  Verse. 

(i)  Any  unrhymed  verse  may  be  called  blank — such  as  the  verse  em- 
ployed by  Longfellow  in  his  "  Hiawatha " — but  the  term  is  usually 
restricted  to  the  unrhymed  iambic  pentameter. 

(ii)  Blank  verse  is  the  noblest  of  all  verse.  It  seems  the  easiest  to 
write  ;  it  is  the  most  difficult.  It  is  the  verse  of  Shakespeare  and  Milton, 
and  of  most  of  our  great  dramatists. 

14.  Iambic    Trimeter   consists  of  three  iambuses;    and  its 
formula  is  3xa. 

The  king'  |  was  on'  |  his  throne';  | 
His  sa'  I  traps  thronged'  ]  the  hall';  | 
A  thou'  I  sand  bright'  |  lamps  shone'  [ 
On  that'  I  high  fes'  I  tival'.  | 

There  is  very  little  of  this  kind  of  verse  in  English. 


yjS  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,   ETC. 

15.  Iambic  Tetrameter  consists  of  four  iambuses;   and  its 

formula  is  4xa. 

The  fire,'  |  with  well'  |  dried  logs'  |  supplied/  | 
Went  roar'  |  ing  up'  ]  the  chim'  |  ney  wide';  ] 
The  huge'  \  hall-ta'  |  ble's  oak'  |  en  face'  | 
Scrubbed  till'  |  it  shone/  |  the  day'  |  to  grace/  | 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  this  verse  in  English ;  and  most  of  it 
is  by  Scott. 

16.  Iambic  Tetrameter  with  Iambic  Trimeter  in  alternate 
lines — the  second  and  fourth  rhyming — is  called  Ballad  Metre. 
When  used,  as  it  often  is,  in  hymns,  it  is  called  Service  Metre. 

They  set  him  high  upon  a  cart;  =  4xa 

The  hangman  rode  below;  =  3 xa 
They  drew  his  hands  behind  his  back,  =  4xa 

And  bared  his  noble  brow.  =  3xa 

This  is  the  metre  of  Macaulay's  'Lays  of  Ancient  Eome,'  of 
Scott's  'Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,'  and  many  other  poems. 
Scott  mixes  frequently,  but  at  quite  irregular  intervals,  the 
iambic  trimeter  with  the  iambic  tetrameter;  and  this  he  called 
the  "light-horse  gallop  of  verse." 

Front,  flank,  and  rear,  the  squadrons  sweep  =  4xa 
To  break  the  Scottish  circle  deep,  =  4xa 

That  fought'  |  around'  |  their  king.' =  3 xa 

17.  Iambic  Pentameter  consists  of  five  iambuses;  and  its 
formula  is  5xa. 

(i)  The  following  is  rhymed  iambic  pentameter  : — 

True  wit'  [  is  na'  |  ture  to'  |  advan'  |  tage  dressed/  |  =  5xa 

What  off  I  was  thought/  |  but  ne'er'  |  so  well'  |  expressed.'  |=5xa 

(ii)  The  following  is  unrhymed  iambic  pentameter  : — 

You  air  I  do  know'  |  this  man'  |  tie ;  I'  |  rem  em'  |  ber=5xa 
The  first'  |  time  ev'  |  er  Caes'  |  ar  put'  |  it  on'.|  =  5xa. 

The  first  extract  is  from  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Criticism " ;  the 
second  from  Shakespeare's  "Julius  Caesar." 

18.  Iambic  Hexameter  consists  of  six  iambuses;  and  its 
formula  is  6xa. 


THE   GRAMMAR   OF  VERSE,  OR  PROSODY.  199 

(i)  The  following  is  from  Drayton's  "Polyolbion  "  : — 

Upon  the  Midlands  now  the  industrious  muse  doth  fall,  |  =6xa 
That  shire  which  we  the  heart  of  England  well  may  call.  |  =  6xa 

The  objection  to  this  kind  of  verse  is  its  intolerable  monotony. 
It  pretends  to  be  hexameter ;  but  it  is  indeed  simply  two  tri- 
meter verses  printed  in  one  long  line.  The  monotony  comes 
from  the  fact  that  the  pause  is  always  in  the  middle  of  the  line. 
There  is  very  little  of  this  kind  of  verse  in  English.  The  line 
of  6xa  is  also  called  an  Alexandrine,  and  is  used  to  close  the 
long  stanza  employed  by  Spenser. 

19.  Trochaic  Tetrameter  consists  of  four  trochees ;  and  its 
formula  is  4 ax. 

(i)  The  following  is  rhymed  trochaic  tetrameter  : — 

When  the  heathen  trumpet's  clang-  |  =  4ax 
Round  beleaguered  Chester  rang,  -  |  =  4ax 
Veiled  nun  and  friar  gray-  |  =  4ax 
Marched  from  Bangor's  fair  abbaye  -  |  =  4ax 

It  will  be  noticed  that  each  line  has  a  syllable  wanting  to 
make  up  the  four  complete  feet.  But  the  missing  syllable  is 
only  an  unaccented  syllable ;  and  the  line  contains  four  ac- 
cents. (The  above  extract  is  from  "The  Monks  of  Bangor's 
March,"  by  Scott.) 

(ii)  The  following  is  unrhymed  trochaic  tetrameter  : — 

Then  the  |  little  |  Hia  |  watha  |  ^4ax 

Learned  of  |  ev'ry  |  bird  the  |  language,  |  =  4ax  , 

Learned  their  |  names  and  |  all  their  |  secrets,  |  =  4ax 

How  they  |  built  their  |  nests  in  |  summer,  |  =  4ax 

Where  they  |  hid  them  |  selves  in  [winter,  |  =  4ax 

Talked  with  |  them  when  |  e'er  he  |  met  them,  |  =  4ax 

Called  them  |  "Hia  |  watha's  |  Chickens."  |  =  4ax 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  the  above  lines  from  Longfellow's 
"  Hiawatha,"  each  trochee  is  complete  ;  and  this  is  the  case 
throughout  the  whole  of  this  poem.  "  Hiawatha  "  is  the  only 
long  poem  in  the  language  that  is  written  in  unrhymed  trochees. 

20.  Trochaic  Octometer  consists  of  eight  trochees;  and  its 
formula  is  8  ax. 

(i)  The   chief   example  of   it  that  we  have  is  Tennyson's  poem  of 
"Locksley  Hall":— 


200  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,   ETC. 

Com'rades,  |  leave'  me  ]  here'  a  |  lit'tle,  |  while'  as  |  yet'  'tis  |  ear'ly  |  mom'-l  =  8ax 
Leave'  me  |  here',  and,  |  when'  you  1  want'  me,  |  sound'  up  | on'  the  |  bu'gle  | horn'-|  =  8ax 

(ii)  There  is  a  syllable  v/anting  in  each  line  of  "  Locksley  Hall  "  ;  but 
it  is  only  an  unaccented  syllable.     Each  line  consists  of  eight  accents. 

21.  Anapaestic   Tetrameter  consists  of  four  anapaests;    and 
its  formula  is  4xxa. 

(i)  There  is  very  little  anapaestic  verse  in  English  ;  and  what  little 
there  exists  is  written  in  tetrameter, 

(ii)  The  following  lines,  from  "  Macgregors'  Gathering,"  by  Scott,  is 
in  anapaestic  verse  : — 

The  moon's'  |  on  the  lake',  |  and  the  mist's'  |  on  the  brae',  1  =4xxa 
And  the  clan'  |  has  a  name'  1  that  is  name'  j  less  by  day'.  |  =4xxa 

(iii)  It  will  be  observed  that  the  first  line  begins  with  an  Iambus. 
This  is  admissible  ;  because  an  iambus  and  an  anapaest,  both  having  the 
accented  syllable  last,  belong  to  the  same  system. 

22.  Dactylic  Dimeter  consists  of  two  dactyls ;  and  its  formula 
is  2axx. 

(i)  A  wpU- known  example  is  Tennyson's  "Charge  of  the  Light 
Brigade." 

Can'non  to  |  right'  of  them,  |  2axx 
Can'non  to  |  left'  of  them,  |  2axx 
Can'non  be  |  hind'  them,  -  |  2axx 

Vol'leyed  and  |  thun'dered.  -  |  2axx 

(ii)  It  will  be  observed  that  the  last  two  lines  want  a  syllable  to  make 
up  the  two  dactyls.    Such  a  line  is  said  to  be  =  2axx  -  (minus). 

(iii)  Or  we  may  say  that  the  last  foot  is  a  trochee  ;  for  a  trochee  and 
a  dactyl  can  go  together  in  one  line,  both  belonging  to  the  same  system 
— both  having  their  accented  syllable  first. 

23.  Dactylic  Tetrameter  consists  of  four  dactyls ;  and  its  for 
inula  is  4axx. 

(i)  Bishop  Heber's  hymn  is  one  of  the  best  examples  : — 
Brighf  est  and  |  besf  of  the  |  sons'  of  the  |  morn'ing. 

(ii)  The  last  foot  here  again  is  a  trochee. 

(iii)  There  is  very  little  ©f  this  kind  of  verse  in  English  poetry. 

24.  Amphibrachic  Tetrameter  consists  of  four  amphibrachs ; 
4ind  its  formula  is  4xax. 


THE    GRAMMAR  OF  VERSE,   OR   PROSODY.  201 

(i)  Campbell's  well-known  poem  is  a  good  example  : — 
There  came'  to  |  the  beach'  a  |  poor  ex'ile  I  of  E'rin. 
(ii)  There  are  very  few  examples  in  English  of  this  kind  of  verse. 

25.  The  following  lines  by  Coleridge  give  both  examples  and 

descriptions  of  the  most  important  metres  explained  in  the  pre- 

<3eding  paragraphs.     It  must  be  observed  that  Coleridge  uses  the 

term  long  for  accented;  and  short  for  unaccented  syllables: — 

Tro'chee  [  trips'  from  ]  long'  to  |  short' —  | 

From  long  to  long  in  solemn  sort, 

Slow  spon  I  dee  ^  stalks  1|  strong'  foot,  yet  j  ill'  able 

E'ver  to  |  come'  up  with  |  dac'tyl  tri  |  syllable  [  . 

lam'  I  bics  march'  |  from  sho'rt  |  to  long'  j  ; 

With  a  leap'  |  and  a  bound'  |  the  swift  an'  [  apsests  throng'  ]  ; 

One  syl'la  |  ble  long'  with  |  one  short'  at  [  each  side —  ] 

Amphi'brach  |  ys  hastes'  with  |  a  state'ly  |  stride. 

26.  A  verse  with  a  syllable  over  and  above  the  number  of 

feet  of  which  it  consists  is  called  Hypermetrical. 

(i)  Thus,  Coleridge  has,  in  his  "Ancient  Mariner" — 
Day  af  |  ter  clay,  |  day  af  |  ter  day,  | 

We  stuck  :  |  nor  breath  |  nor  mo  |  tion,    (hyper) 
As  id  I  le  as  I  a  paint  |  ed  ship  | 

Upon  I  a  paint  |  ed  o  |  cean.    (hyper) 

Here  the  syllables  tion  and  cean  are  over  from  the  iambic  trimeter 
Terse,  and  the  line  is  therefore  said  to  be  hypermetrical. 

27.  A  verse  with  a  syllable  wanting  to  the  number  of  feet 
of  which  it  consists  is  said  to  be  defective. 

(i)  Thus,  in  Scott's  "  Monks  of  Bangor  "— 

Slaugh'tered  |  doAvn'  by  |  heath'en  |  blade'-  [  4ax- 
Ban'gor's  |  peace'ful  |  monks'  are  j  laid'.  -  |  4ax- 

we  find  a  syllable  wanting  to  each  line.  But  that  syllable  is  an  un- 
accented one  ;  and  the  verse  consists  of  four  trochees  minus  one  syllable, 
or  4ax  -. 

(ii)  Caution ! — Some  persons  confuse  the  defective  with  the  hyper- 
metrical line.     Thus,  in  the  verses — 

Shall'  I  I  wast'ing  |  in'  de  |  spair',  -  | 
Die'  be  ]  cause  a  1  wom'an's  |  fair'  ?  -  | 

the  syllable  spair  is  not  hypermetrical.  An  unaccented  syllable  is 
wanting  to  it  ;  and  the  lines  are  4ax  defective  or  minus. 

^  A  spondee  consists  of  two  long  or  accented  syllables.     It  is  a  foot  not 
employed  in  English  ;  but  it  exists  in  the  two  words  amen  and  farewell. 


202  COMPOSITION.    PUNCTUATION,   ETa 


RHYME. 

28.  Rhyme  has  been  defined  by  Milton  as  the  "jingling 
sound  of  like  endings."  It  may  also  be  defined  as  a  corre- 
spondence in  sound  at  the  ends  of  lines  in  poetry. 

(i)  Rhyme  is  properly  spelled  rime.  The  word  originally  meant  num,' 
her;  and  the  Old  English  word  for  arithmetic  was  rime-craft.  It 
received  its  present  set  of  letters  from  a  confusion  with  the  Greek  word 
rhythm,  which  means  a  flowing. 

(ii)  Professor  Skeat  says  "  it  is  one  of  the  worst-spelt  words  in  the 
language."  "It  is,"  he  says,  "impossible  to  find  an  instance  of  the 
spelling  rhyme  before  1550."     Shakespeare  generally  wrote  rime. 

29.  Ko  rhyme  can  be  good  unless  it  satisfies  four  conditions. 
These  are  : — 

1.  The   rhyming   syllable  must  be   accented.      Thus    ring' 

rhymes  with  sing;  but  not  with  think' ing. 

2.  The  vowel  sound  must  be  the  same — to  the  ear,  that  is ; 

though  not  necessarily  to   the  eye.     Thus  lose  and  dose 
are  not  good  rhymes. 

3.  The  final  consonant  must  be  the  same.     (3£ix  and  tricks 

are  good  rhymes  ;  because  x  =  ks.) 

L  The  preceding  consonant  must  be  difi'erent. 
Beat  and  feet ;  jump  and  pump  are  good  rhymes. 

30.  The  English  language  is  very  poor  in  rhymes,  when 
compared  with  Italian  or  German.  Accordingly,  half-rhymes 
are  admissible,  and  are  frequently  employed. 

The  following  rhymes  may  be  used  : — 

Sun.  Love.  Allow.  Ever.  Taste. 

Gone.  Move.  Bestow.  River,  Past. 


THE  C^SUEA.  203 


THE     C^SUEA, 

31.  The  rhythm  or  musical  flow  of  verse  depends  on  the 
Faried  succession  of  phrases  of  difi'erent  lengths.  But,  most  of 
all,  it  is  upon  the  Cassura,  and  the  position  of  the  Caesura, 
that  musical  flow  depends. 

The  word  c(xsura  is  a  Latin  word,  and  means  a  cutting. 

32.  The  Caesura  in  a  line  is  the  rest  or  halt  or  break  or 
pause  for  the  voice  in  reading  aloud.  It  is  found  in  short  as 
well  as  in  long  lines. 

(i)  The  following  is  an  example  from  the  short  lines  of  '  Marmion  ' 

(vi.  332)  :— 

1^  More  pleased  that  ll  in  a  barbarous  age 
2^  He  gave  rude  Scotland  1|  Virgil's  page, 

1  Than  that  ||  beneath  his  rule  he  held 

2  The  bishopric  1|  of  fair  Dunkeld. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  Sir  Walter  Scott  takes  care  to  vary  the 
position  of  the  caesura  in  each  line — sometimes  having  it  after  14  feet, 
sometimes  after  2  ;  and  so  on. 

(ii)  The  following  is  an  example  from  the  long  lines  of  the  "  Lycidas  " 
of  Milton  : — 

2  Now,  Lycidas,  i|  the  shepherds  weep  no  more  ; 
1    Henceforth  |1  thou  art  the  genius  of  the  shore 

3  In  thy  large  recompense,  ||  and  shalt  be  good 
2J  To  all  that  wander  H  in  that  perilous  flood. 

Milton,  too,  is  careful  to  vary  the  position  of  his  caesura  ;  and  most  of 
the  music  and  much  of  the  beauty  of  his  blank  verse  depend  upon  the 
fact  that  the  caesura  appears  now  at  the  beginning,  now  at  the  middle, 
now  at  the  end  of  his  lines  ;  and  never  in  the  same  place  in  two  con~ 
secutive  verses. 

(iii)  Of  all  the  great  WTiters  of  English  verse,  Pope  is  the  one  who 
places  the  caesura  worst  —  worst,  because  it  is  almost  always  in  the 
same  place.  Let  us  take  an  example  from  his  "Rape  of  the  Lock" 
(canto  i.)  : — 

2  The  busy  sylphs         ||  surround  their  darling  care, 
2  These  set  the  head,    ||  and  these^divide  the  hair ; 
2  Some  fold  the  sleeve,  ||  whilst  others  plait  the  gown  ; 
2  And  Betty's  praised  |1  for  labours  not  her  own. 

And  so  he  goes  on  for  thousands  upon  thousands  of  verses.  The  symbol 
of  Pope's  caesura  is  a  straight  line  ;  the  symbol  of  Milton's  is  "the  line 
of  beauty  " — a  line  of  perpetually  varying  and  harmonious  curves. 


204  COMPOSITION,   PUNCTUATION,  ETC. 


THE     STANZA. 

33.  A  Stanza  is  a  group  of  rhymed  lines. 

The  word  comes  from  an  old  Italian  word,  stantia,  an  abode. 

34.  Two  rhymed  lines  are  called  a  couplet ;  and  tMs  may  be 
looked  upon  as  the  shortest  kind  of  stanza. 

(i)  The  most  usual  couplet  in  English  consists  of  two  rhymed  iambic 
pentameter  lines.     This  is  called  the  "  heroic  couplet." 

35.  A  stanza  of  three  rhymed  lines  is  called  a  triplet. 

(i)  A  very  good  example  is  to  be  found  in  Tennyson's  poem  of  "  The 

Two  Voices,"  which  consists  entirely  of  triplets  : — 

"  Whatever  crazy  sorrow  saith, 
No  life  that  breathes  with  human  breath 
Has  ever  truly  longed  for  death. " 

36.  A  stanza  of  four  rhymed  lines — of  which  the  first  (some- 
times)  rhymes  with  the  third,  and  the  second  (always)  with 
the  fourth — is  called  a  quatrain. 

(i)  The  ordinary  ballad  metre  consists  of  quatrains — that  is,  foul 
lines,  two  of  iambic  tetrameter,  and  two  of  iambic  trimeter. 

(ii)  A  quatrain  of  iambic  pentameters  is  called  Elegiac  Verse.  Tho 
best  known  example  is  Gray's  "  Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard." 

37.  A  stanza  of  six  lines  is  called  a  sextant. 

(i)  There  are  many  kinds.  One  is  used  in  Hood's  "  Dream  of  Eugene 
Aram,"  which  is  written  in  4xa  and  3xa  ;  the  second,  fourth,  and  sixth 
lines  rhyming. 

(ii)  Another  in  Whittier's  "  Barclay  of  Ury,"  which  has  the  first  and 
second  lines,  the  third  and  sixth,  the  fourth  and  fifth,  rhyming  with 
each  other. 

(iii)  Another  in  Lowell's  "Yussouf,"  which  has  the  first  and  third 
liaes,  the  second  and  fourth,  and  the  fifth  and  sixth  rhyming. 

38.  A  stanza  of  eight  lines  is  called  an  octave,  or  ottava 
rima. 

(Pronounced  ottdhva  reema.) 

39.  A  stanza  of  nine  lines  is  called  the  Spenserian  stanza, 
because  Edmund  Spenser  employed  it  in  his  "  Faerie  Queene." 


THE   STANZA*  205 

(i)  The  first  eight  lines  of  this  stanza  are  in  5xa;  the  last  line,  in  6xa. 
(ii)  The  rhymes  run  thus  :  abab  ;  bcbcc. 

40.  A  short  poem  of  fourteen  iambic  pentameter  lines — with 
the  rhymes  arranged  in  a  peculiar  way — is  called  a  sonnet. 

(i)  This  is  a  form  which  has  been  imported  into  England  from  Italy, 
where  it  was  cultivated  by  many  poets — the  greatest  among  these  being 
Dante  and  Petrarch,  both  of  them  poets  of  the  thirteenth  century. 
The  best  English  sonnet-writers  are  Milton,  Wordsworth,  and  Mrs 
Browning. 

(ii)  The  sonnet  consists  of  two  parts— an  octave  (of  eight  lines),  and 
a  sestette  (of  six).  The  rhymes  in  the  octave  are  often  varied,  being 
sometimes  abba,  acca  :  those  in  the  sestette  are  sometimes  abc,  abc  ; 
or  ababcc. 

(iii)  Shakespeare's  "  Sonnets  "  are  not  formed  on  the  Italian  model, 
and  can  hardly  be  called  sonnets  at  all.  They  are  really  short  poems  ot 
three  quatrains,  ending  in  each  case  with  a  rhymed  couplet. 

(iv)  The  following  is  Wordsworth's  sonnet  on  "  The  Sonnet  "  : — 

''  Scorn  not  the  Sonnet ;   critic,  you  have  frowned  a 

Mindless  of  its  just  honours :  with  this  key  6 

Shakspeare  unlocked  his  heart ;  the  melody  6 

Of  this  small  lute  gave  ease  to  Petrarch's  wound ;  a 

^  \  A  thousand  times  this  pipe  did  Tasso  sound ;  a 

With  it  Camoens  soothed  an  exile's  grief;  c 

The  sonnet  glittered  a  gay  myrtle  leaf  c 

^Amid  the  cypress  with  which  Dante  crowned  a 

fKis  visionary  brow ;  a  glow-worm  lamp  d 

lit  cheered  mild  Spenser,  called  from  fairyland  e 

To  struggle  through  dark  ways ;  and  when  a  damp  d 

Fell  roimd  the  path  of  Milton,  in  his  hand  e 

I  The  thing  became  a  trumpet,  whence  he  blew  / 

iSeul-animating  strains— alas,  too  few  I "  / 


EXEECISES. 


EXERCISE  I.   (Introduction,  p.  3). 

1.  "What  do  you  understand  by  the  language  of  a  people?  2.  Dis- 
tinguish between  phonetics  and  alphabetics.  3.  Detine  grammar. 
4.  Contrast  our  present  language  with  what  it  was  in  the  fifth 
century.  5.  Account  for  the  difference.  6.  What  part  of  grammar  is 
unnecessary  except  in  a  written  language  ?  7.  Distinguish  between 
orthography  and  etymology.  8.  Show  the  connection  between  syntax 
and  prosody. 

EXERCISE   n..  (Sounds  and  Letters,  p.  5). 

1.  Show  the  difference  between  a  vowel  and  a  consonant.  2.  Say 
which  are  the  vowels  in  the  following  words  :  young,  wonder,  worth, 
hypercritical,  abstemious,  yell,  iota.  3.  Name  the  diphthongs,  if  any, 
in  continuous,  idea,  shoeing,  join,  oasis,  reason,  porous,  variety,  spon- 
taneity. 4.  How  are  consonants  classified  ?  5.  Select  the  dentals  and 
gutturals  from  the  following  words  :  dog,  gate,  gentle,  truth,  thank, 
hog,  gymnastic,  pneumatic,  drink,  conquered.  6.  Select  the  palatals 
and  labials  from  the  following  words  :  Job,  Benjamin,  archiepiscopate, 
bdellium,  method,  psalm,  yacht.  7.  Distinguish  between  mutes  and 
spirants.  8.  Show  which  are  the  dental  and  which  the  palatal  spir- 
ants in  scissors,  rush,  shawl,  zealously,  laziness,  azimuth,  zephyr,  harass. 
9.  Change  as  many  as  you  can  of  the  following  into  corresponding 
sharp  sounds  :  bad,  dove,  dig,  bag,  bathe,  gad,  beg,  Jude,  dug,  Jove, 
gab,  jug.  10.  Reduce  the  following  sharp  to  flat  sounds  :  pack,  buck, 
cat,  set,  trick,  chick,  pet.  11.  Classify  the  consonants  in  the  word 
fundamental. 

EXERCISE   in.  (The  Alphabet,  p.  7). 

1.  What  is  an  alphabet  ?  2.  Trace  the  growth  of  the  alphabet. 
3.  What  are  the  characteristics  of  a  true  alphabet  ?  4.  Prove  our 
alphabet  faulty.      5.  Which  are  the  redundant  letters  ? 


208  EXERCISES. 


EXERCISE   IV.  (Nouns,  p.  9). 

1.  What  is  a  noun  ?  2.  How  are  nouns  classified  ?  3.  Define 
abstract  nouns.      4.   Classify  the  nouns  in  the  following  : — 

(a)   "  Come  forth  into  the  light  of  things, 

Let  nature  be  your  teacher. " —  Wordsworth. 

(6)   "Welcome,  learn 'd  Cicero  !  whose  blessed  tongue  and  wit 
Preserves  Rome's  greatness  yet." — Cowley. 

(c)  "  All  in  the  Downs  the  fleet  lay  moor'd." — Dihdin. 

{d)  •'  Poictiers  and  Cressy  tell, 

When  most  their  pride  did  swell." — Drayton. 

(e)  "Life  without  industry  is  guilt,  and  industry  without  art  is 
brutality. " — Buskin. 

{/)  Parliament  was  prorogued.  The  troop  returned  to  barracks. 
The  jury  disagreed.  Many  a  congregation  missed  him.  The  flock 
was  driven  down  the  lane. 

5.  Make  abstract  nouns  of  true,  noble,  young,  king,  patient^  man^  lord, 
intrude,  rogue,  slave,  poor,  domain,  catechise,  exemplify. 


EXERCISE   V. 
Classify  the  nouns  in  the  following  : — 

"  Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting; 

The  soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  Life's  Star, 
Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 

And  Cometh  from  afar : 
Not  in  entire  forgetfulness, 
And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come 
From  God,  who  is  our  home: 

Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy! 
Shades  of  the  prison-house  begin  to  close 

Upon  the  growing  Boy, 
But  He  beholds  the  light,  and  whence  it  flows 

He  sees  it  in  his  joy  I"  —  WordswoTih, 


EXERCISE    VI.   (Gender,  p.  11). 

1.  What  is  inflexion?  2.  Define  gender.  3.  Give  the  different 
ways  in  which  gender  is  marked.  4.  Give  the  gender  of  Londoner, 
chief,  senor,  actor,  debtor,  sailor,  kitten,  sheep,  charity,  knave,  moon,  ant 
spouse,  bee,  laundress.  5.  Give  the  masculine  of  spinster,  doe,  slut,  ewe 
nymph,  bride,  heifer,  Harriet,  infanta,  baxter,  lass,  czarina,  vixen 
6.  Write  the  feminine  of  man,  widower,  patron,  drake,  marquis,  gan 


EXERCISES.  209 

deVy  friar,  sire,  benefactor,  executor,  tutor,  hart,  7.  What  is  the  fem- 
inine corresponding  to  each  of  the  following?  son,  nephew,  earl,  hoar, 
Paul,  gaffer,  filly.  8.  Arrange  the  words  in  (4)  and  (5)  as  of  Teutonic 
or  of  Latin  origin. 


EXERCISE   VII.   (Number,  p.  15). 

1.  Define  number.  2.  Give  the  chief  ways  of  forming  plurals. 
3.  Supply  the  plurals  of  child,  chief,  cloth,  calf,  horse,  table,  Dutchman, 
German,  Henry,  Babylon,  trout,  week,  fly,  solo,  monkey,  com^mander -in- 
chief,  index,  boot,  foot.  4.  Also  of  House  of  Parliam,ent,  mouse,  lily, 
turkey,  gas,  box,  genius,  Mr  Jones,  canto,  penny,  crisis,  Miss  Foote,  Lord 
Mayor,  lady -help,  relief,  dye,  buoy,  colloquy,  clearer -up,  spoonful. 
5.  Write  the  singulars  of  kine,  sheep,  tenori,  radii,  series,  data,  dice, 
analyses,  cherubim,,  hosen  (Dan.,  chap.  iii.  ver.  21).  6.  Distinguish  be- 
tween pease  and  peas,  brothers  and  brethren,  dies  and  dice,  geniuses  and 
genii.  7.  Justify  the  use  of  each  of  the  following  :  memorandums,  foci, 
indices,  bandits,  funguses,  seraphs.  8.  State  the  number  of  each  of  the 
nouns  in  the  following  : — 

{a)    "The  audience  were  too  much  interested." — Scott. 

[b)  "The  court  were  seated  for  judgment." — Id. 

(c)  "  The  garrison  only  bestow  a  few  bolts  on  it." — Id. 

{d)   "  The  House  of  Lords  were  so  much  influenced." — Hume, 
(e)    "The  weaker  sex  themselves." — Id. 
(/)  "All  his  tribe  are  blind." — Bunyan. 


•EXERCISE   VIII. 

State  the  kind   and  number  of  each  of  the  nouns  in  the 
following  : — 

(a)   "  He  sees  that  this  great  round-about, 
The  world  with  all  its  motley  rout, — 

Church,  army,  physig,  law. 
Its  customs  and  its  businesses, 
Is  no  concern  at  all  of  his." — Cowper. 

(6)  "  Nature  is  but  the  name  for  an  effect, 
Of  which  the  cause  is  God. " — Id. 

(c)    "  Earth  fills  her  lap  with  pleasures  of  her  own, 

Yearnings  she  hath  in  her  own  natural  kind."  —  Wordsworth* 

{d)   "The  rose  is  fairest  when  'tis  budding  new, 

And  hope  is  brightest  when  it  dawns  from  fears." — Scott. 

(e)   "A  look  of  kind  Truth,  a  word  of  Goodwill, 
Are  the  magical  helps  on  Life's  ;:oad  ; 
With  a  mountain  to  travel  they  shorten  the  hill. 
With  a  burden  they  lighten  the  load. " 

— Eliza  Cook, 


210  EXERCISES. 


EXERCISE   IX. 

Give  the  kind,  gender,  and  number  of  the  nouns  in  the 
following  : — 

(a)   "A  baby  was  sleeping,  its  mother  was  weeping, 

For  her  husband  was  far  on  the  wild  raging  sea." — S.  Lover. 

{b)  "Perhaps  that  very  hand,  now  pinion'd  flat, 

Has  hob-a-nobb'd  with  Pharaoh,  glass  to  glass ; 

Or  dropp'd  a  halfpenny  in  Homer's  hat, 

Or  doflPd  thine  own  to  let  Queen  Dido  pass, 

Or  held,  by  Solomon's  own  invitation, 

A  torch  at  the  great  Temple's  dedication." — Horace  Smith. 

(c)   "  Britannia  needs  no  bulwark. 

No  towers  along  the  steep." — Campbell. 

{d)  "  He  spoke  of  the  grass,  and  flowers,  and  trees, 
Of  the  singing  birds,  and  the  humming  bees, 
Then  talked  of  the  haying,  and  wonder'd  whether 
The  cloud  in  the  west  would  bring  foul  weather. " — J.  G.  Whittier. 

EXERCISE  X.    (Case,  p.  19). 

1.  Define  case.  2.  For  what  cases  are  nouns  inflected  ?  3.  What 
determines    the    nominative    case  ?      4.  Define    nominative     absolute. 

5.  Show  the  two  ways  of  denoting  the  possessive  case.  6.  Define 
cognate  object.  7.  Why  are  dative  objects  so  called  ?  8.  Give  the 
meaning  of  factitive  as  applied  to  the  objective  case.  9.  What  is  an 
adverbial  object. 

EXERCISE   XI. 

Select  the  nominatives  in  the  following  : — 

1.  The  bloom  falls  in  May.  2.  The  ostriches'  heads  were  not  to 
be  seen.  3.  "The  kine,"  said  he,  "I'll  quickly  feed."  4.  The  kine 
were  fed.      5.   The   captain  falling    ill,    the    boatswain    took    charge. 

6.  A  wandering  minstrel  am  I.  7.  Here  lies  the  body  of  a  noble 
man.  8.  Richard,  they  say,  was  cruel.  9.  The  bell  ringing,  the 
children  assembled.  10.  Richard,  William's  son,  was  killed  in  the 
New  Forest.  11.  Go  quickly.  12.  A  number  of  sheep,  losing  their 
way,  fell  over  the  precipice.  13.  Rattle  his  bones  over  the  stones. 
14.  The  guide  falling  ill,  the  travellers  had  to  rely  on  his  dog.  15. 
Ah  !  Charlie,  my  son,  you  cheer  your  old  mother  ! 

EXERCISE   XIL 

Point  out  the  objective  case  in  each  of  the  following  sen- 
tences : — 

1.  Britannia  rules  the  waves.  2.  Pardon  me.  3.  I  beg  your  par- 
don. 4.  To-night  no  moon  I  see.  5.  How  many  birds  did  they  catch  ? 
6.  He  rode  two  miles.      7.  The  king  conferred  with  the  general.     8. 


EXERCISES.  211. 

The  children  laughed  at  the  squirrel.  9.  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the 
righteous.  10.  The  crooked  oak  I'll  fell  to-day.  11.  A  liar  who  can 
trust?  12.  We  know  a  tree  by  its  fruit.  13.  He  told  a  good  tale. 
14.  The  boy  sneered  at  the  idea.  15.  Richard  slew  his  godfather, 
Richard  Neville,  Earl  of  Warwick,  the  king-maker. 


EXERCISE    XIII. 

Write  the  following  in  the  ordinary  possessive  form  : — 

1.  The  bark  of  a  dog.  2.  The  twitter  of  the  swallows-  3.  The 
books  of  John.  4.  The  spades  of  the  workmen.  5.  The  studies  of 
James.  6.  The  scissors  of  Miss  Cissy  Moses.  7.  The  lute  of  Or- 
pheus. 8.  The  sword  of  Achilles.  9.  The  subscriptions  of  the  ladies. 
10.  The  death  of  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry.  11.  The  cries  of  the 
babies.  12.  The  marriage  of  Richard,  Earl  of  Cambridge.  13.  The 
innocence  of  the  lilies.  14.  The  head  of  a  sheep.  15.  The  tails  of 
sheep.  16,  The  jubilee  of  Victoria,  Queen  of  England.  17.  The  sake 
of  my  conscience. 

EXERCISE   XIV. 

Give  particulars  of  the  cases  of  each  of  the  nouns  in  the 
following : — 

1,  Toll  for  the  brave.  2.  Flaxen  was  his  hair.  3.  Ho,  gunners  !  fire 
a  loud  salute.  4.  Give  the  man  a  draught  from  the  spring.  5.  The 
parson  told  the  sexton,  and  the  sexton  toll'd  the  bell.  6.  Boys,  you 
deserve  to  have  a  holiday  given  you.  7.  It  is  very  like  a  whale. 
S.  In  this  place  ran  Cassius' dagger  through.  9.  He  paid  him  the  debt 
for  conscience'  sake.  10.  The  king's  baker  dreamed  a  dream.  11. 
The  l^dy  lent  the  boy  'Robinson  Crusoe.'  12.  Bid  your  wife  be 
judge.  13.  The  Count  of  Anjou  became  leader.  14.  Joan  seemed  a 
holy  woman.  15.  Charles  appointed  Buckingham  commander. 
16.  Let  the  actors  play  the  play.  17.  John  walked  two  hpurs  and 
travelled  seven  miles.  18.  How  many  hired  servants  of  my  father's 
have  bread  enough.  19.  I  have  a  sixpence,  but  no  pennies.  20.  Ben- 
jamin, Joseph's  own  brother,  Jacob's  youngest  son,  was  kept  a 
prisoner. 

EXERCISE   XV. 

State  fully  the  cases  of  the  nouns  in  the  following : — 

1.  The  sergeant  choosing  the  tallest,  the  other  recruits  dispersed. 
2.  Old  Kaspar's  work  was  done.  3.  William,  sing  a  song.  4.  She 
made  the  poor  girl  a  dress.  5.  She  knitted  all  day.  6.  The  tide 
floated  the  vessel.  7.  The  boy  swam  his  little  boat.  8.  Let  the  king 
be  your  leader.  9.  A  small  hole  will  sink  a  ship.  10.  Let  bygones 
be  bygones. 

11.   It  rains,  it  hails,  it  blows,  it  snows, 
Methinks  I'm  wet  thro'  all  my  clothes. 


212  EXERCISES. 


EXERCISE   XVI. 

Parse  fully  all  the  nouns  occurring  in  the  sentences  quoted 
below  : — 

(a)   "Trusse  up  thy  packe,  and  trudge  from  me,  to  every  little  boy, 
And  tell  them  thus  from  me,  their  time  most  happy  is, 
If  to  theyr  time  they  reason  had  to  know  the  truth  of  this." 

— The  Earl  of  Surrey, 
{h)   "  Underneath  this  sable  hearse 
Lies  the  subject  of  all  verse, 
Sidney's  sister,  Pembroke's  mother." — Ben  Jonson, 

(c)  "  Give  me  a  looke,  give  me  a  face. 

That  makes  simplicitie  a  grace, " — Id. 

{d)   ' '  His  house  was  known  to  all  the  vagrant  train  ; 

He  chid  their  wand 'rings,  but  relieved  their  pain, " — Goldsmith, 

(c)   '•  Yet  shall  poor  Tom  find  pleasant  weather, 
When  He,  who  all  commands. 
Shall  give,  to  call  life's  crew  together, 
The  word  to  pipe  all  hands," — C.  Dibdin. 

EXERCISE    XVII,   (Pronouns,  p.  23). 

1.  Define  a  pronoun,  and  give  derivation.  2,  What  is  a  personal 
pronoun?  3.  What  are  the  only  pronouns  that  can  be  used  in  the 
vocative  case  ?  4.  Which  person  alone  takes  distinction  of  gender  ? 
5.  What  is  an  interrogative  pronoun  ?  6,  Distinguish  between  who 
and  what,  ye  and  you,  thy  and  thme,  and  me  and  myself.  7.  Explain 
the  ch  in  ivhich,  the  m  in  ichom,  the  ther  in  whether,  and  the  t  in  it. 
8.  "They  who  run  may  read" — where  is  the  conjunction  for  these 
two  sentences  ?  9.  When  are  reflexive  pronouns  used  ?  10.  Define 
a  distributive  pronoun. 

EXERCISE   XVIII. 

Give  the  kind,  gender,  number,  person,  and  case  of  each  of 
the  pronouns  below  : — 

(a.)    "I  am  monarch  of  all  I  survey. 

My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute," — Cowper. 
{b)     "  You  yourself  are  much  condemn'd." — Shakespeare. 

(c)  "Little  children,  love  one  another." — Bible. 

(d)  "  Few  shall  part  where  many  meet," — Campbell. 
(«)     "  Who  would  fill  a  coward's  grave?  " — Burns. 

(/)   "You  wrong'd  yourself  to  write  in  such  a  case," — Shakespeare, 
(g)    "Each  had  his  place  appointed,  each  his  course." — Milton, 
(h)    "Right  as  a  serpent  hideth  him  under  flowers." — Chaucer. 
{i)     "  Of  them  He  chose  twelve,  whom  also  He  named  apostles," 

—Bible. 
(Jc)     "The  stars  are  out  by  twos  and  threes." — Wordsworth, 
(I)     "  He  is  the  freeman  whom  the  truth  makes  free, 
And  all  are  slaves  besides." — Cowper. 


EXERCISES.  213 


EXERCISE   XIX. 

Parse  the  relatives  and  antecedents  in  the  following : — 

(a)  "  To  know 

That  which  before  us  lies  in  daily  life, 
Is  the  prime  wisdom." — Milton. 

(6)  "  Who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash." — Shakespeare. 

(c)    "  He  prayeth  best,  who  loveth  best 

All  tilings,  both  great  and  small." — Coleridge. 

{d)  "  Freedom  has  a  thousand  charms  to  show, 

That  slaves,  howe'er  contented,  never  know.  "^Cbi^en 

(e)   "Vain,  very  vain,  my  weary  search  to  find 

That  bliss  which  only  centres  in  the  mind." — Goldsmith. 

{/)  '*  Be  strong,  live  happy,  and  love  ;  but  first  of  all. 
Him  whom  to  love  is  to  obey." — Milton. 

{g)  *'  Whoever  lov'd,  that  lov'd  not  at  first  sight  ? " — Shakespeare. 

{h)   **  There  were  none  of  the  Grograms  but  could  sing  a  song,  or 
of  the  Marjorams  but  could  tell  a  story." — Goldsmith, 
i)  "  Whatsoever  he  doeth  shall  prosper." — Bible, 
k)  "  Let  such  teach  others,  who  themselves  excel." — Pope. 

EXERCISE   XX. 

Parse  fully  the  nouns  and  pronouns  in  the  following : — 

(a)   "That  thee  is  sent  receive  in  buxomness." — Chaucer. 

(6)   "Forth,  pilgrim  forth — on,  best  out  of  thy  stall, 
Look  up  on  high,  and  thank  the  God  of  all." — Id. 

(c)   "The  place  that  she  had  chosen  out, 
Herself  in  to  repose, 
Had  they  come  down,  the  gods  no  doubt 
The  very  same  had  chose." — Drayton. 

{d)  "  So,  Willy,  let  you  and  me  be  wipers 

Of  scores  out  with  all  men,  especially  pipers  : 

And,  whether  they  pipe  us  free  from  rats  or  from  mice, 

If  we've  promised  them  aught,  let  us  keep  our  promise." 

— Browning. 

(e)  "  Let  beeves  and  home-bred  kine  partake 
The  sweets  of  Burn-mill  meadow ; 
The  swan  on  still  Saint  Mary's  lake 
Float  double,  swan  and  shadow." — Wordsworth. 

EXERCISE   XXL    (Adjectives,  p.  28). 

1»  Define  an  adjective.     2.  Show  the  twofold  function  of  an  adjective, 
3.  Name  the  kinds  of  adjectives.      4.  Give  the  derivation  of   each 


214  EXERCISES. 

name.  5.  In  what  ways  may  quantitative  adjectives  be  used?  6, 
How  are  numeral  adjectives  classitied?  7-  What  adjectives  are 
inflected  for  number  ?  8.  What  adjectives  are  inflected  for  comparison  ? 
9.  How  is  the  comparative  formed  ?  10.  Distinguish  between  further 
axid  farther,  older  and  elder,  later  and  latter.  11.  Write  the  ordinals 
of  one,  tico,  three,  four,  forty,  eight,  twenty,  hundred,  five,  twelve. 

EXERCISE   XXn. 

Classify  the  adjectives  in  the  following  : — 

1.  *'  In  the  body  politic,  as  in  the  natural  body,  morbid  languor 
succeeds  morbid  excitement." — Macaulay.  2.  "So  thick  a  drop 
serene  hath  quenched  their  orbs." — Milton.  3.  "His  ain  coat  on  his 
back  is." — Old  Song.  4.  "He  was  a  ready  orator,  an  elegant  poet, 
a  skilful  gardener,  an  excellent  cook,  and  a  most  contemptible 
sovereign." — Gibbon.  5.  "Tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy 
sleep." — Young.  6.  "You  gave  good  words  the  other  day  of  a  bay 
courser  I  rode." — Shakespeare.  7.  "The  poor  man  that  loveth  Christ 
is  richer  than  the  richest  man." — Bunyan.  8.  "  Sole  Eve,  associate 
sole,  to  me  beyond  compare  above  all  living  creatures  dear." — Milton. 
9.  "Fox  beat  half  the  lawyers  in  the  House  at  their  own  weapons.'' 
< — Macaulay. 

EXERCISE   XXIII. 

Parse  fully  all  the  adjectives  in  the  following  : — 

1.  "The  better  part  of  valour  is  discretion;  in  the  which  better 
part  I  have  saved  my  life." — Shakespeare.  2.  "  Act  well  your  part; 
there  all  the  honour  lies." — Pope.  3.  "The  greater  the  new  power 
they  create,  the  greater  seems  their  revenge  against  the  old. " — Bulwer. 

4.  "It  was  a  very  low  fire  indeed  for  such  a  bitter  night." — Dickens. 

5.  "  Some  three  or  four  of  you  go,  give  him  courteous  conduct  to  this 
place." — Shakesjyeare.  6.  "Many  a  carol,  old  and  saintly,  sang  the 
minstrels. " — Longfellow.  7.  ' '  The  morning  comes  cold  for  a  July 
one."— Carlyle.  "s.  "  I'll  fill  another  pipe.  "—^^enie.  9.  "  Our  host 
presented  us  round  to  each  other. " — Thackeray.  10.  "He  is  one  of 
those  wise  philanthropists." — Jerrold.  11.  "We  two  saw  you  four 
set  on  four." — Shakespeare.  12.  "This  said,  they  both  betook  them 
several  ways." — Milton.  13.  "  Blazing  London  seem'd  a  second 
Troy. " — Cowper. 

EXERCISE   XXIV. 

(1)  Compare  the  following  adjectives  where  they  admit  of 
it:— 

Stout,  thin,  marvellourS,  calm,  shy,  lady-like,  gentlemanly,  wet,  honour- 
able, dead,  near,  full,  prim,  lovely,  clayey,  happy,  sad,  solar, 

(2)  Write  the  positive  of 

Next,  more,  inner j  last,  hast,  first,  inmost,  heUtr. 


EXERCISES.  215 


EXERCISE   XXV. 

Parse  fully  the  adjectives  in  the  following  : — 

1.   "This    dress    and   that   by    turns    you    tried." — Tennyson.      2. 
"  That  sun   that  warms  you  here   shall   shine  on  me." — Shakespeare. 

3.  "Those  thy  fears  might  have  wrought  fears  in  me." — Shakespeare. 

4.  "  Can  the  false-hearted  boy  have  chosen  such  a  tool  as  yonder 
fellov/?" — Dickens.  5.  "Look  here,  upon  this  picture,  and  on  this; 
the  counterfeit  presentment  of  two  brothers." — Shakespeare.  6.  "My 
father  lived  at  Blenheim  then,  yon  little  stream  hard  by." — Southey. 

7.  "The  oracles  are  dumb  ; 

No  voice  or  hideous  hum 

E/Uns  thro'  the  arched  roof  in  words  deceiving." — Milton. 

8.  "  She  stepped  upon  Sicilian  grass, 

Demeter's  daughter,  fresh  and  fair, 
A  child  of  light,  a  radiant  lass. 

And  gamesome  as  the  morning  air. " — Jeati  Ingelow. 


EXERCISE   XXVI.  #  • 

Parse  the  nouns,  pronouns,  and  adjectives  in  the  following: — 

(a)   "  Lord  !  Thou  dost  love  Jerusalem, 
Once  she  was  all  Thy  own  : 
Her  love  Thy  fairest  heritage, 

Her  power  Thy  glory's  throne." — Moore. 

(b)   "As  proper  men  as  ever  trod  upon  neat's  leather  have    gone 
upon  my  handiwork." — Shakespeare. 

(c)  "  0,  Sir,  to  wilful  men, 

The  injuries  that  they  themselves  procure 
Must  be  their  schoolmasters. " — Shakespeare. 

(d)  "True  ease  in  writing  comes  from  art,  not  chance. 

As  those  move  easiest  who  have  learned  to  dance." — Pope. 

(e)  "  Who  said  that  I  had  given  thee  up  ? 

Who  said  that  thou  wert  sold  ? " — Mrs  Norton. 


EXERCISE   XXVn.    (The  Verb,  p.  34). 

1 .  Define  a  verb.  2.  What  are  the  two  great  classes  into  which  verbs 
are  divided  ?  3.  Define  a  transitive  verb.  4.  Name  the  ways  in  which 
an  intransitive  verb  may  become  transitive.  5.  What  is  the  test  for  a 
prepositional  verb?  6.  What  is  an  auxiliary?  7.  Why  are  auxili- 
aries necessary  ?  8.  What  is  voice  ?  9,  What  are  the  only  verbs 
that  can  be  in  the  passive  voice ?  10.  Why?  11.  How  is  the  passi\^ 
voice  formed  ? 


2 1 6  EXERCISES. 

EXERCISE   XXVin. 

Classify  the  verbs  in  the  following  into  transitive  and  in- 
transitive : — 

(a)  "  Who  reads 
Incessantly,  and  to  his  reading  brings  not 
A  spirit  and  judgment  equal  or  superior, 
Uncertain  and  unsettled  still  remains." — Milton. 

(b)  "  As  yet  a  child,  nor  yet  a  fool  to  fame, 

I  lisped  in  numbers,  for  the  numbers  came. " — Pope. 

think,  articulate,  I  laugh  and  weep, 
^nd  exercise  all  the  functions  of  a  man  ; 
)W  then  should  I  and  any  man  that  lives 
jfstrangers  to  each  other  ?    — Cowper. 

•  A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  for  ever  ; 
Its  Wellness  increases  ;  it  will  never 
Pass^aio  nothingness." — Keats. 

(e)   "  B^rayeth  best,  who  loveth  best 
All  things,  both  great  and  small ; 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us, 

He  mafce  and  loveth  all. " — Coleridge. 

EXERCISE   XXIX. 

Arrange  the  following  verbs  as  prepositional  or  causative  : — 
1.  The  magistrate  swore  in  the  constables.  2.  The  goodness  of  the 
soil  soon  raised  a  crop.  3.  I  have  spoken  to  a  man  who  once  baited  a 
hook  and  drew  in  a  pike.  4.  The  gardener  will  fell  the  tree,  and  lay 
out  the  borders.  5.  The  pirates  having  jeered  at  the  threats,  sank 
the  ship.  6.  Some  of  the  children  will  fly  kites,  others  swim  boats. 
7.  Tom  will  run  his  pony  up  and  down.  8.  They  glory  in  little 
faults,  wink  at  great  ones,  and  cough  down  the  remonstrances  of  the 
wise  men. 

9.   "A  falcon,  towering  in  her  pride  of  place, 

Was  by  a  mousing  owl  hawk'd  at  and  killed." — Shakespeare. 

EXERCISE   XXX. 

Kewrite  the  first  eight  sentences  in  the  foregoing  exercise 
in  the  passive  voice. 

EXERCISE   XXXI. 

Give  particulars  of  the  tense  of  each  of  the  verbs  in  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

(a)  "  The  king  is  come  to  marshal  us,  all  in  his  armour  drest." 

— Macaulay. 
{h)   "I  would  not  have  believed  it  unless  I  had  happened  to  have 
been  there." — Dickens. 

(c)  "  I  am,  I  will,  I  shall  be  happy." — Lytlon. 


EXERCISES.  21  r 

{d)  You  are  fighting  a  shadow,  (e)  I  shall  have  had  enough  of  this. 
(/)  Why  came  ye  hither?  {g)  Knew  ye  not  what  they  had  lost? 
(A)  We  know  not,  neitlier  do  we  care,  (i)  A  man  who  had  lost  his 
way,  stopped  till  a  boy  came  sauntering  along,  (k)  "  Am  I  in  the 
right  road  for  London?"  said  the  man.  (/)  "Yes,"  was  the  reply; 
"  but  you  will  not  get  there  till  you  have  walked  twelve  miles."  (m) 
"  I  have  been  walking  three  hours  already,  and  I  shall  have  been 
travelling  a  whole  day  ere  I  reach  my  journey's  end." 

EXERCISE   XXXII. 

State  the  mood  of  each  of  the  verbs  in  the  followin||jaiid 
point  out  the  gerunds  and  participles  : —  l^m 

(a)   "I  dare  do  all  that  may  become  a  man : 

Who  dares  do  more  is  none." — Shakespeare. 

{b)  **  Now,  wherefore  stopp'st  thou  me  ?  " — Coleridge. 

(c)  "  Truth  from  his  lips  prevail'd  with  double  sway, 

And  fools  who  came  to  scpflf  remained  to  pijay. " — Goldsmith. 

{d)  "  Well,  sit  we  down. 

And  let  us  hear  Bernardo  speak  of  this.  ^^-^haJcespeare. 

(e)     "I  watched  the  little  circles  die." — Tennyson. 

(/)  "I  am  ashamed  to  observe  you  hesitate." — Scott. 

(g)    "  Come  unto  these  yellow  sands, 
And  then  take  hands  ; 
Curtsied  when  you  have,  and  kissed, 
(The  wild  waves  whist) 
Foot  it  featly  here  and  there." — Shakespeare. 

(A)     "I  do  not  think  my  sister  so  to  seek." — Hilton, 

(i)     ' '  Cromwell,  I  did  not  think  to  shed  a  tear 
In  all  my  misery,  but  thou  hast  forc'd  me 
Out  of  thine  honest  truth  to  play  the  woman. 
Let's  dry  our  eyes,  and  thus  far  hear  me,  Cromwell. " 

— Shakespeare. 

EXERCISE   XXXIII. 

Select  the  auxiliaries  from  the  following  sentences,  and  show 
the  force  of  each  : — 

(a)  "I  did  send  to  you  for  gold." — Shakespeare. 
(&)   "  The  king  is  come  to  marshal  us." — Macaulay. 

(c)   "  Full  fathom  five  thy  father  lies  ; 
Of  his  bones  are  coral  made  : 
Those  are  pearls  that  were  his  eyes, 

Nothing  of  him  that  doth  fade. " — Shakespeare. 

{d)  **  The  lark  has  sung  his  carol  in  the  sky. 

The  bees  have  humm'd  their  noon-tide  lullaby." — Regers. 


218  EXERCISES. 

(e)  *'  He  was — whatever  thou  hast  been, 

He  is — what  thou  shalt  be." — Montgomery. 

{/)  "I  have  done  the  deed.  Bidst  thou  not  hear  a  noise?** — 
Shakespeare. 

{g)  "  Must  I  then  leave  you  ?  " — Id. 

(h)  I  shall  be  drowned  if  none  will  save  me  !  [i)  Will  he  not  come 
again  ?  (k)  We  have  been  thinking  over  the  matter.  [l)  The 
soldiers  are  to  be  .marching  by  six  o'clock,  {rti)  By  Friday  they  will 
have  loeen  working  four  days.  (??)  Do  try  to  come  early,  (o)  He 
could  have  been  there  had  he  wished  to  have  been  seen  by  his  old 
friends. 

EXERCISE   XXXIV. 

Arranore  the  verbs  in  Exercises  XXYII.  to  XXXIII.  as 

strong  or  weak. 

EXERCISE   XXXV. 

1.  Of  what  verbs  is  the  verb  he  made  up?  2.  Give  the  four  ways 
in  which  this  verb  is  used.  3.  State  the  use  of  he  in  each  of  the 
following  instances:  {a)  "Whatever  is,  is  right." — Pope,  [h)  Thou 
art  the  man.  (c)  I  shall  be  there,  {d)  They  are  to  resign,  (e)  David 
was  a  bold  man.  (/)  The  men  will  be  chosen  by  lot.  [g]  He  is  gone 
to  his  grave,  [h)  "Be  off  !  "  cried  the  old  man  to  the  boys  who  were 
teasing  him. 

EXERCISE   XXXVI. 

1.  Give  the  mood  auxiliaries.  2.  Name  the  tense  auxiliaries,  and 
give  the  limitation  of  each.  3.  Why  are  can  and  may  called  defective 
verbs  ?  4.  In  what  tense  is  the  verb  miist  never  used  ?  5.  What  was 
the  original  meaning  of  the  word  ?     6.   And  what  is  its  present  idea  ? 

EXERCISE   XXXVII.    (Adverbs,  p.  57). 

1.  Define  an  adverb.  2.  In  what  two  ways  may  adverbs  be  classi- 
fied ?  3.  Show  the  twofold  function  of  a  conjunctive  adverb.  4.  Give 
the  classification  of  adverbs  according  to  their  meaning. 

EXERCISE   XXXVIII. 

Arrange  as  simple  or  conjunctive  the  adverbs  in  the  follow- 
ing :— 

1.  Come  where  the  moonbeams  linger.  2.  Where  are  you  going? 
3.  Where  the  bee  sucks,  there  lurk  I.  4.  Come  in.  5.  Look  out ! 
Here  comes  the  beadle,  so  let  us  run.  6.  Who's  there  ?  7.  I  know 
a  bank  whereon  the  wild  thyme  grows.  8.  Then  out  spake  bold 
Horatius.  9.  She  is  beautiful  because  she  is  good.  10.  Verily 
here  are  sweetly  scented  herbs,  therefore  will  we  set  us  down  awhile 
till  our  friends  leisurely  return. 


EXEECISES.  219 

EXERCISE   XXXIX. 

Classify  all  the  adverbs  in  the  following : — 

(a)    "  Once  again  we'll  sleep  secure." — Shakespeare^ 

{h)     ' '  My  father  lived  at  Blenheim  then, 

Yon  little  stream  hard  by." — Souther/. 

(c)  "Thus  have  I  yielded  into  your  hand 

The  circle  of  my  glory." — Shakespeare. 

(d)  "Now  came  still  evening  on." — Milton. 

(e)  "  Now  the  great  winds  shoreward  blow, 

Now  the  salt  tides  seaward  flow." — M.  Arnold. 

if)   "We  no  longer  believe  in  St  Edmund." — Carlyle. 
{[/)    "What  so  moves  thee  all  at  once  ?  " — Coleridge, 
{h)    "  Vex  not  thou  the  poet's  mind." — Tennyson. 

EXERCISE   XL. 

Parse  the  adverbs  in  the  following  : — 

(a)  "  The  solemn  peaks  but  to  the  stars  are  known, — 

But  to  the  stars,  and  the  cold  lunar  beams." — M.  Arnold, 

(b)  "  My  life  is  spann'd  already." — Shakespeare. 

(c)  "You  always  put  things  so  pleasantly." — Bidiver. 

(d)  "  Slow  and  sure  comes  up  the  golden  year." — Tennyson. 

(e)  "  Not  all  the  pearls  Queen  Mary  wears. 

Nor  Margaret's  still  more  precious  tears, 
Shall  buy  his  life  a  day." — Scott. 

(/)   "Therefore  make  her  grave  straight." — Shakespeare. 

{g)    "  Why  holds  thine  eye  that  melancholy  rheum?  " — Id. 

{h)  A  very  inquisitive  child  once  saucily  a^ked  of  an  exceedingly 
needy-looking  man,  "Where  do  you  most  generally  dine?"  Immedi- 
ately the  all  but  actually  starving  man  replied  somewhat  sadly,  though 
quite  smartly  withal,  "  Near  anything  I  may  get  to  eat.'* 

EXERCISE   XLI. 

Parse  fully  the  nouns,  pronouns^  adjectives,  verbs,  and 
adverbs  in  the  following: — 

(a)   "  Go  out,  children,  from  the  mine  and  from  the  city, 
Sing  out,  children,  as  the  little  thrushes  do : 
Pluck  your  handfuls  of  the  meadow  cowslips  pretty. 
Laugh  aloud,  to  feel  your  fingers  let  them  through." 

— Mrs  Browning. 

(&)  "None  of  us  yet  know,  for  none  of  us  have  yet  been  taught  in 
early  youth,  what  fairy  palaces  we  may  build  of  beautiful  thought — 
proof  against  all  adversity. " — Buskin. 


220  EXERCISES. 

EXERCISE   XLIL    (Prepositions,  p.  58). 

Select  the  prepositions  in  the  following,  and  say  what  they 
connect  and  govern  : — 

1.  In  the  corner  of  the  box  near  the  bench  behind  the  door,  is  the 
picture  of  a  man  without  a  coat  to  his  back.  2.  Notwithstanding 
he  had  returned  with  wood,  they  sent  for  some  more.  3.  The  lady 
in  purple  is  in  mourning.  4.  Respecting  the  scholars,  all  but  Charles 
read  through  the  chapter  concerning  Galileo.  5.  Whom  are  you 
writing  to  ?  6.  Come  in,  Puss,  to  your  kittens.  7.  That  is  the 
book  I  spoke  about. 

EXERCISE   XLIII. 

1.  Define  a  preposition.  2.  What  words  are  affected  by  preposi- 
tions ?  3.  Give  a  list  of  simple  prepositions.  4.  Show  the  com- 
position of  the  following  prepositions  :  hut,  beside,  after,  until,  aboard^ 
beneath,  among,  beyond. 

EXERCISE   XLIV.    (Conjunctions,  p.  60). 

1.  Define  a  conjunction.  2.  What  is  a  subordinate  conjunction? 
3.   Classify  the  conjunctions  in  the  following : — 

(a)    ' '  My  hair  is  grey,  but  not  with  years. 
Nor  grew  it  white 
In  a  single  night. " — Byron. 

(b)  "  Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be." — Shakespeare. 

(c)  "Awake,  arise,  or  be  for  ever  fallen." — Milton. 

(d)  "Man  never  is,  but  always  to  be  blest." — Pope. 

(e)  "  Must  I  then  leave  you  ?  " — Shakespeare. 

if)   "Wealth  may  seek  us,  but  wisdom  must  be  sought." — Young. 

{g)    "I  saw  Mark  Antony  offer  him  a  crown ;  yet  it  was  not  a  crown 
neither. " — Shakespeare. 

EXERCISE   XLV.   (Syntax,  p.  64). 

1.  What  determines  the  "part  of  speech"  a  word  is?  2.  Define 
syntax.  3.  Into  what  two  parts  may  it  be  divided  ?  4.  What  two 
questions    might    be    asked    concerning    each    word    in    a    sentence  ? 

5.  State   the    principal    concords    existing    in    the    English    language. 

6.  Name  the  chief  instances  of  government  in  our  language. 

EXERCISE   XLVI. 

Give  full  particulars  of  all  nominatives  in  the  following 
quotations  : — 

(a)  *'  So  work  the  honey  bees, 

Creatures  that  by  a  rule  in  nature  teach 

The  art  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom. " — Shakespea/re, 


EXERCISES.  221 

(6)  •'  Clatters  each  plank  and  swinging  chain." — Scott. 

(c)  "A  white  wall  is  the  paper  of  a  fool." — G.  Herbert, 

{d)  "I  that  speak  to  thee  am  he." — Bible. 

(e)  "  Thus  now  alone  he  conqueror  remains." — Spenser. 

(/)  "  He  returned  a  friend  who  came  a  foe." — Pope. 

ig)  "Ah,  then,  what  honest  triumph  flush'd  my  breast  ! 

This  truth  once  known — To  bless  is  to  be  blest !  " — Goldsmith. 

(h)  "Ho  !  gallant  nobles  of  the  League,  look  that  your  arms  be 
bright. " — Macaulay. 

EXERCISE   XLVII. 

Explain  the  possessives  in  the  following  : — 

(a)    "  And  hers  shall  be  the  breathing  balm,     .... 
And  beauty  born  of  murmuring  sound, 
Shall  pass  into  her  face." —  Wordsworth. 

(6)    *'Then  shall  man's  pride  and  dulness  comprehend 

His  actions',  passions',  being's  use  and  end." — Pope. 

(c)     "  Ere  thou  remark  another's  sin, 

Bid  thy  own  conscience  look  within." — Gay. 

{d)    "Anything  that  money  would  buy  had  been  his  son's." — 

Thackeray. 
(e)     *'  Though  dark  be  my  way,  since  He  is  my  guide, 

'Tis  mine  to  obey,  'tis  His  to  provide." — J.  Newton. 

EXERCISE   XLVIII. 

Give  full  particulars  of  all  the  objectives  in  the  following  : — 

(a)    "Your  tanner  will  last  you  nine  year." — Shakespeare. 

{b)     "  There  were  some  that  ran,  and  some  that  leapt 
Like  troutlets  in  a  pool. " — Hood. 

(c)     "  He  has  two  essential  parts  of  a  courtier,  pride  and  ignorance. 

— Ben  Jonson. 
{d)    "I  would  gladly  look  him  Ln  the  face." — Shakespeare. 

(e)     "  Clearing  the  fence,  he  cried  "  Halloo  !  " 

(/)  ' '  They  made  him  captain,  and  he  gave  them  orders  to  sail  the 
boat  six  leagues  south  of  the  point." 

EXERCISE   XLIX. 

1.  How  are  most  adjectives  inflected?  2.  In  what  two  ways  are 
adjectives  used?  Classify  those  in  the  following  in  accordance  with 
your  last  answer  : — 

(a)     "  When  I  was  dry  with  rage  and  extreme  toil, 
Breathless  and  faint,  leaning  upon  my  sword, 
Came  there  a  certain  lord,  neat,  trimly  dress'd."^ — Shakespeare. 


222  EXERCISES. 

(6)  "  Still  more  majestic  shalt  thou  rise, 

More  dreadful  from  each  foreign  stroke ; 
As  the  loud  blast  that  tears  the  skies 

Serves  but  to  root  thy  native  oak." — Tliomson. 

(c)   "They  considered  themselves  fortunate  in  making  the  children 
happy,  and  in  rendering  the  despairing  hopeful." 


EXERCISE   L. 

1.  In  what  way  is  a  participle  an  adjective  ?  2.  Wliat  function  of 
a  verb  does  it  retain  ?  3.  What  number  is  used  with  the  distribu- 
tives ?     4.   Say  all  that  is  necessary  of  the  adjectives  below  : — 

(a)  "  Each  horseman  drew  his  battle  blade, 

And  furious  every  charger  neighed," — Campbell. 

(b)  "He  made  me  mad 

To  see  him  shine  so  brisk  and  smell  so  sweet, 

And  talk  so  like  a  waiting-gentlewoman." — Shahespecure. 

(c)  **  Sweet  Isle  !  within  thy  rock-girt  shore  is  seen 

Nature  in  her  sublimest  dress  arrayed. — E.  Foskett. 

(d)  "Into  the  valley  of  death 

Rode  the  six  hundred." — Tennyson. 

(e)  "A  form  more  fair,  a  face  more  sweet, 

Ne'er  hath  it  been  my  lot  to  meet.^«7.  G,  Whittier. 

{/)   "  Hard  lot  !  encompass'd  with  a  thousand  dangers  ; 
Weary,  faint,  trembling  with  a  thousand  terrors, 
I'm  call'd,  if  vanquish'd,  to  receive  a  sentence 
Worse  than  Abiram's." — Cowper. 


EXERCISE   LI. 

Show  the  agreement  of  the  pronouns  with  nouns  in  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

(a)    "  On  she  came  with  a  cloud  of  canvas, 

Right  against  the  wind  that  blew." — Coleridge, 

(6)     * '  Who  said  that  I  had  given  thee  up  ? 

Who  said  that  thou  wert  sold  ?  " — 3frs  Norton. 

(c)     **  She  lov'd  me  for  the  dangers  I  had  pass'd. 

And  I  lov'd  her  that  she  did  pity  them." — Shakespeare. 

{d)    *'  The  eye — it  cannot  choose  but  see  ; 
We  cannot  bid  the  ear  be  still ; 
Our  bodies  feel,  where'er  they  be. 

Against,  or  with  our  will. " —  Wordsworth. 


EXERCISES.  223 


EXERCISE   LH. 

Show  the  concords  of  the  antecedents  and  relatives  in  the 
following  : — 

(a)   *'  Now  glory  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  from  whom  all  glories  are." 

— Macaulay. 

(6)   *'  Not  a  pine  in  my  grove  is  there  seen, 

But  with  tendrils  of  woodbine  is  bound." — Shenstone. 

(c)   *'  This  sword  a  dagger  had,  his  page. 

That  was  but  little  for  his  age. " — Butler. 

{d)  "  My  banks  they  are  furnished  with  bees. 

Whose  murmur  invites  one  to  sleep." — Shenstone. 

(e)   "  Then  palaces  shall  rise  ;  the  joyful  son 

Shall  finish  what  his  short-lived  sire  begun. " — Pope. 


EXERCISE   Lin. 

Show  the  concord  of  each  verb  in  the  following  with  its 
subject,  and  quote  the  rule  in  each  case  : — 

(a)   "I  sing  the  birth  was  born  to-night, 

The  author  both  of  life  and,  light. " — Ben  Jonson. 

(6)   "  Blow,  blow,  thou  winter  wind, 
Thou  art  not  so  unkind 

As  man's  ingratitude." — Shakespeare. 

(c)  "  Sundays  the  pillars  are 

On  which  heaven's  palace  arched  lies." — G.  Herbert, 

{d)   "  Can  storied  urn  or  animated  bust 

Back  to  its  mansion  call  the  fleeting  breath  ?  " — Gray. 

(e)    "Our  company  were  now  arrived  within  a  mile  of  Highgate." 

— Fielding. 

(/)  *'  Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be. " — Shakespeare. 


EXERCISE   LIV. 

Point  out  the  governing  verbs  and  their  objects  in  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

(a)    "  He  gave  to  misery  all  he  had,  a  tear." — Gray. 

(6)     "  They  made  me  queen  of  the  May." — Tennyson. 

(c)     "  Thou  hast  a  tongue,  come,  let  us  hear  its  tune." 

— Horace  Smith. 


224  EXEKCISES. 

{d)     * '  Past  all  dishonour, 

Death  has  left  on  her 

Only  the  beautiful."— 7".  Hood. 

(e)     "  Methinks  we  must  have  known  some  former  state." 

— L.  E.  Landon, 

{/)  "  To  scatter  plenty  o'er  a  smiling  land, 

And  read  their  history  in  a  nation's  eyes, 
Their  lot  forbade." — Gray. 


EXERCISE   LV. 

Explain  fully  the  mood  of  each  verb  in  the  following : — 

(a)  "  Had  I  a  heart  for  falsehood  framed, 

I  ne'er  could  injure  you." — Sheridan. 

(b)  "  The  good  of  ancient  times  let  others  state  ; 

I  think  it  lucky  I  was  born  so  late." — Sydney  Smith. 

(c)  "  Oh,  then,  while  hums  the  earliest  bee. 

Where  verdure  fires  the  plain, 
Walk  thou  with  me,  and  stoop  to  see 
The  glories  of  the  lane  !  "—Eh.  Elliott. 

{d)  *'  They  make  obeisance  and  retire  in  haste. 
Too  soon  to  seek  again  the  watery  waste  : 
Yet  they  repine  not — so  that  Conrad  guides, 
And  who  dare  question  aught  when  he  decides  ?  " — Byron. 


EXERCISE   LVL 

Distinguish  between  gerunds  and  infinitives  in  the  follow- 
ing :— 

(a)   "  To  gild  refined  gold,  to  paint  the  lily, 
To  throw  a  perfume  on  the  violet. 
To  smooth  the  ice,  or  add  another  hue 
Unto  the  rainbow,  or  with  taper  light 
To  seek  the  beauteous  eye  of  heaven  to  garnish, 
Is  wasteful  and  ridiculous  excess." — Shakespeare, 

(6)    "  To  make  mankind,  in  conscious  virtue  bold. 

Live  o'er  each  scene,  and  be  what  they  behold : 
For  this  the  tragic  muse  first  trod  the  stage. 
Commanding  tears  to  stream  through  every  age." — Pope. 

(c)  '*  Good-night,  good-night  !  parting  is  such  sweet  sorrow, 

That  I  shall  say  good-night  till  it  be  morrow." — Shakespeare. 

(d)  **  In  framing  an  artist,  art  hath  thus  decreed, 

To  make  some  good,  but  others  to  exceed." — Id. 

(e)  ."  Giving  is  better  than  receiving. " 


EXERCISES.  225 


EXERCISE   LVIL 

Explain  all  the  adverbs,  prepositions,  and  conjunctions  in 
the  following  : — 

(a)  "  Bunyan's  famed  Pilgrim  rests  that  shelf  upon : 

A  genius  rare  but  rude  was  honest  John." — Crabbe. 

(b)  "A  second  man  I  honour,  and  still  more  highly:  him  who  is 
seen  toiling  for  the  spiritually  indispensable  ;  not  daily  bread,  but  the 
bread  of  life." — Carlyle. 

(c)    "  This  only  grant  me,  that  my  means  may  lie 

Too  low  for  envy,  for  contempt  too  high." — Cowley. 

{d)   "  A  man  that  looks  on  glass, 
On  it  may  stay  his  eye  ; 
^Or,  if  he  pleaseth,  through  it  pass, 

And  then  the  heavens  espy." — G.  Herbert. 

(e)    "  All  precious  things,  discovered  late, 

To  those  that  seek  them  issue  forth  ; 
For  Love  in  sequel  works  with  Fate." — Tennyson. 


ANALYSIS  (p.  86). 

EXERCISE    I. 

L  "What  is  a  sentence?  2.  Of  what  two  parts  must  it  consist? 
3.  What  can  form  a  subject  ?  4.  Define  a  predicate.  5.  What  is 
necessary  for  the  completion  of  some  predicates  ?  6.  Why  are  these 
completions  called  objects? 

EXERCISE   n. 

Arrange  in  columns  the  subjects  in  the  following,  and  .say 
of  what  each  consists  : — 

(a)  The  potato  is  wholesome,  (b)  Eat  it.  (c)  **  Hush!  "said  the 
mother,  [d)  "  Hurrah ! "  rang  from  the  ranks,  (e)  The  lazy  take 
most  pains.  (/)  Thinking  leads  to  action.  (^7)  To  learn  meagrely 
means  to  beg  eagerly.  (h)  Who  loves  not  liberty  ?  (^)  Amassing 
wealth  oft  ruins  health,  [k)  ' '  Bravo ! "  shouted  the  audience.  (I) 
Laughing  is  contagious. 

EXERCISE   HL 

Supply  subjects,  and  so  make  sentences  of  the  following : — 

(a)  shall  clothe  a  man  with  rags,      [b)  catch  mice,      (c) 

is  a  good   dog.      [d)  tips  the   little  hills  with  gold,      (e) 

discovered    America.      {/)  was    killed    by    Brutus.       {g) 

deserves  play,     {h) does  not  love  his  home  ?    (i) makes 

a  glad  father.     {Jc)  fell  great  oaks. 


226  EXERCISES. 


EXERCISE   IV. 

Select  the  predicates  in  the  following,  and  say  of  what  each 
consists  : — 

1.  A  cheery  old  soul  lives  here.  2.  It  rains.  3.  A  live  dog  is 
better  than  a  dead  lion.  4.  I  am  not  the  king.  5.  The  idle  pro- 
crastinate. 6.  The  dead  alone  are  happy.  7.  We  are  all  here.  8. 
Charity  beareth  all  things.  9.  Heroes  die  once.  10.  No  one  loves  a 
coward. 

EXERCISE  V. 

Supply  predicates  to  the  following  subjects : — 

1.   Short    reckonings    .      2.   Boys    .      3.   A  man  .  4. 

Gold    .       5.    Diamonds    .       6.   A    stitch    in    time   .  7. 

David .      8.   Lazy  workmen .      9.    Puss  in  boots  .  10. 

Truth .      11.  Beauty .      12.  To  be  idle . 

EXERCISE  VI. 

Select  the  objects  in  the  following,  and  say  of  what  each 
consists  : — 

(a)  We  loved- him  dearly.  (h)  The  preacher  cries  "Prepare!'' 
(c)  Ruskin  adores  the  beautiful,  {d)  Cats  love  to  lie  basking,  (e) 
Each  man  plucked  a  rose.  {/)  Who  does  not  love  singing  ?  {g) 
Friends  dislike  saying  good-bye !  {h )  Him  they  found  in  great 
distress,  {i)  He  destroyed  all.  {k)  She  left  none  behind.  (Z)  One 
sailor  saved  the  other,      (m)  One  good  turn  deserves  another. 

EXERCISE   Vn. 

Select  the  objects,  distinguishing  between  direct  and  in- 
direct : — 

1.  Give  the  knave  a  groat.  2.  Thrice  he  offered  him  the  crown. 
3.  He  handed  his  daughter  down-stairs.  4.  They  handed  the  visitors 
programmes.  5.  The  weather  promises  the  anglers  iine  sport.  6.  The 
boatswain  taught  the  midshipman  swimming.  7.  Grant  us  a  holiday. 
8.  The  fox  paid  the  crow  great  attention.  9.  Thomas  posted  his  uncle 
a  letter.  10.  The  sailor-boys  often  bring  their  friends  curiosities. 
11.  Play  the  children  a  tune. 

EXERCISE  VnX 

Supply  objects  to  the  following  : — 

1.   Waste    brings    .      2.   Perseverance    merits  ' .      3.    She 

taught  the  little  a  new  .      4.   The  postman  brought  • 

a  .      5.   Few  men   enjoy   .      6.   He    gave    the    poor    a 

new .     7.  The  Queen  prorogued . 


EXERCISES. 


227 


FORMS   FOR  THE   ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES 

SCHEME    I. 


Subject. 

Predicate. 

Object. 

Thssun 

shines. 

The  soldiers 

were  brave. 

A  good  son 

obeys 

his  parents. 

Ripe  corn-fields 

always  rejoice 

the  farmer's  heart. 

The  child 

appears  ill. 

SCHEME   II. 


Subject. 

Enlargement. 

Predicate. 

Extension. 

Object. 

Enlargement. 

Thompson 

the  carpenter 

mended 

yery  soon 

the  gate 

broken. 

The  company 

of  huntsmen 

had  taken 

early  next 
morning 

departure 

their. 

The  princes 

of  Europe 

have  found 

recently 

a  plan 

better. 

Parmenio 

the  Grecian 

had  done 

once 

something 

pleasing  to 
the    multi- 
tude. 

SCHEME   III. 


1.  Maud  Mliller 

2.  on  a  summer's  day, 

3.  Raked 

4.  the  meadow 

5.  sweet  with  hay. 

1.  But 

2.  knoMdedge 

3.  to  their  eyes 

4.  her  ample 

5.  page, 

6.  Rich  with  the  spoils  of  time 

7.  did  unroll 

8.  ne'er. 


Subject. 

Extension  of  predicate  (3). 

Predicate. 

Object. 

Enlargement  of  object  (4). 

{connective  word). 

Subject. 

Extension  of  predicate  (7). 

Enlargement  of  object  (5). 

Object. 

Enlargemejit  of  object  (5). 

Predicate. 

Extension  of  predicate  (7). 


228 


EXERCISES. 


SCHEME    IV. 

Analyse  : — 

'  *  Those  who  are  conversant  with  books  well  know  how  often  they 
mislead  us,  when  we  have  not  a  living  monitor  at  hand  to  assist  us  in 
comparing  theory  with  practice. " — Junius. 


A. 

1. 

Those 

Subject  (6). 

'    2. 

who 

Subject  (3). 

B. 

-      3. 

are  conversant  with 

Predicate  ( =  understand). 

I    4. 

books 

Object  (3). 

A, 

re: 

well 

Extension  of  manner  (6). 

know 

Predicate. 

{    7. 

how  often 

Extension  of  time  (9). 

C! 

)   8- 

they 

Subject  (9). 

\J» 

)  9. 

mislead 

Predicate. 

(   10. 

us, 

Object  (9). 

/ll. 

when 

{Conjunction), 

12. 

we 

Subject  (13). 

13. 

have 

Predicate. 

14. 

not 

Extension  of  negation  (13), 

D. 

^15. 

a  living 

Enlargement  (16). 

16. 

monitor 

Object  (13). 

17. 

at  hand 

Extension  of  place  (13). 

18. 

to  assist  us  in 
theory  with 

comparing 
practice. 

Enlargement  (16). 

A.  Principal  sentence. 

B.  Adjective  sentence  to  {A)  (1). 
C    Noun  sentence  to  {A)  (6). 

D,  Adverbial  sentence  to  {€)  (9). 


EXERCISES. 


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230  EXERCISES. 


EXERCISE   IX. 


Analyse  the  following  according  to  Scheme  I. : — 

(a)  Cowards  fear  themselves,  (b)  He  appears  earnest,  (c)  Swim- 
ming teaches  self-reliance,  {d)  To  labour  is  to  pray,  (e)  "Beware," 
said  the  sentry.  (  f)  Make  haste,  [g)  The  bells  are  chiming.  (A) 
George  told  his  father  the  truth,  [i)  Stop,  {k)  Plumbers  stop  the 
leaks.  (/)  The  pipe  leaks,  (m)  The  field  yields  the  farmer  a  fortune. 
{n)  Love  not  sleep.  (o)  Here  we  are.  \p)  The  child  brought  the 
invalid  a  garland,  (g)  The  captain  will  give  the  crew  a  warning,  (r) 
Luna  shows  the  traveller  the  way.  {s)  Phoebus  loves  gilding  the 
corn-fields,  {t)  Chanticleer  announces  the  morn,  {u)  Mary,  call  the 
cattle. 

EXERCISE   X. 

Of  what  may  enlargements  consist  ? 

Point  out  the  enlargements,  and  say  of  what  kind  each  is  : — 

L  A  good  little  girl  sat  under  a  tree.  2.  Wilful  waste  makes 
woful  want.  3.  A  desire  to  excel  actuates  Smith,  the  foreman.  4. 
A  ramble  on  a  sunmier  evening  restores  the  drooping  spirit.  5.  Feel- 
ing sorry,  he  gave  the  poor  old  fellow  a  hearty  meal.  6,  William, 
the  captain  of  the  school,  knowing  the  game,  taught  the  new  scholars 
the  rules.  7.  One  man's  meat  is  another  man's  poison.  8.  Re- 
membering your  duty,  visit  the  sick. 


EXERCISE   XL 
Supply  enlargements  in  Exercise  IX. 

EXERCISE  XIL 

Select  the  extensions  in  the  following,  and  say  of  what  each 
consists  : — 

L  Sweetly  sing  soft  songs  to  me.  2.  In  a  whisper  she  gave  them 
the  order.  3.  They  filled  the  gardens  quickly  and  completely.  4. 
Inch  by  inch  the  spider  travelled.  5.  I  come  to  bury  Caesar.  6. 
Listen  patiently  to  hear  the  nightingale.  7.  Everything  passed  off 
successfully.  8.  The  tide  came  creeping  up  the  beach.  9.  The  old 
man  walks  with  two  sticks. 

EXERCISE   Xin. 
Supply  extensions  to  Exercise  IX. 


EXERCISES.  231 

EXERCISE   XIV. 

Analyse  the  following  sentences  according  to  Scheme  II. : — 

(a)  "I  will  make  thee  beds  of  roses," — G.  Marloive. 

(b)  "Then  came  the  Autumne  all  in  yellow  clad." — Spenser. 

(c)  "  Give  me  my  scallop-shell  of  quiet, 

My  staff  of  faith  to  walk  upon." — Raleigh. 

{d)  *'  Thus  clad  and  fortified,  Sir  Knight 

From  peaceful  home  set  forth  to  fight. " — Butler. 

(e)   **  Dear  Thomas,  didst  thou  ever  pop 

Thy  head  into  a  tinman's  shop  ?  " — M.  Prior. 

if)  "One  morn  a  Peri  at  the  gate 

Of  Eden  stood,  disconsolate." — T.  Moore. 

(g)  "The  spirits  of  your  fathers 

Shall  start  from  every  wave." — Campbell. 

(h)  "  The  castled  crag  of  Drachenfels 

Frowns  o'er  the  wide  and  winding  Rhine." — Byron. 

EXERCISE   XV. 

Number  the  parts  of  the  following  sentences  according  to 
Scheme  III,,  and  say  what  each  is  : — 

{a)  "  Sometime  we'll  angle  in  the  brook, 

The  freckled  trout  to  take." — M.  Drayton. 

(6)   "  The  shepherd  swains  shall  dance  and  sing 

For  thy  delight  each  May  morning, " — C.  Marlowe, 

(c)   "  Read  in  these  roses  the  sad  story 

Of  my  hard  fate,  and  your  own  glory." — Carew. 

{d)  "  Thy  gentle  flows  of  guiltless  joys, 

On  fools  and  villains  ne'er  descend. " — Johnson. 

(e)  "  The  cheerfu'  supper  done,  wi'  serious  face, 

They,  round  the  ingle,  form  a  circle  wide." — Burns. 

EXERCISE   XVI. 
Analyse  the  following  sentences  : — 

(a)  "Attend,  ye  gentle  powers  of  musical  delight," — Akenside. 

(b)  "Through  the  trembling  ayre 
Sweet-breathing  Zephyrus  did  softly  play." — Spenser. 

(c)  "  When  then  shall  Hope  and  Fear  their  objects  find  ?  " — Johnson. 

{d)    "Close  by  the  regal  chair 

Fell  Thirst  and  Famine  scowl 

A  baleful  smile  upon  their  baflSed  guest. " — Gray. 

(e)     "The  Sundays  of  man's  life, 

Threaded  together  on  time's  string, 


232  EXERCISES. 

Make  bracelets  to  adorn  the  wife 

Of  the  eternal  glorious  king." — George  Herbert. 
(/)   "The  trenchant  blade,  Toledo  trusty, 

For  want  of  fighting  was  grown  rusty. " — Butler, 
[g)  "  With  beating  heart  to  the  task  he  went." — Scott. 
(A)    "How  calmly  gliding  through  the  dark-blue  sky, 

The  midnight  moon  ascends  !  " — Southey. 

EXERCISE   XVII. 

1.  "What  is  a  compound  sentence?  2.  How  are  co-ordinate  sen- 
tences sometimes  contracted  ?  3.  Show  that  relative  pronouns  are 
sometimes  used  as  conjunctions.  4.  Analyse  the  following  compound 
sentences  according  to  Scheme  II.  : — 

(a)  "  Of  conversation  sing  an  ample  theme, 

And  drink  the  tea  of  Heliconian  stream." — Chatterton. 

(b)  '*  Come  forth  into  the  light  of  things, 

Let  Nature  be  your  teacher." — Wo7'clsivo7'th. 

(c)  "He  gazed  at  the  flowers  with  tearful  eyes, 

He  kissed  their  drooping  leaves." — Longfellow, 
{d)    "  On  piety,  humanity  is  built ; 

And,  on  humanity,  much  happiness." — Young. 
(e)     ' '  On  the  green  bank  I  sat  and  listened  long. " — Dry  den. 

{/)  '"  ^i  youiig  Lochinvar  is  come  out  of  the  west. 

Through  all  the  wide  Border  his  steed  was  the  best. 
And,  save  his  good  broadsword,  he  weapons  had  none ; 
He  rode  all  unarmed,  and  he  rode  all  alone." — Scott. 

EXERCISE   XYIII. 

Expand  the  adjectives  in  the  following  into  phrases  : — 

1.  A  merciful  man  considers  his  beast. 

2.  The  mistress  scolded  the  lazy  servant. 

3.  A  ragged  man  went  down  the  lane. 

4.  The  plague  carried  off  the  young  ones. 

5.  Numerous  birds  were  found  dead. 

6.  Sailors  dislike  a  dead  calm. 

EXERCISE   XIX. 

Expand  the  adverbs  in  the  following  into  phrases  ;-— 

1.  Green  seldom  tries  the  eye. 

2.  The  soldiers  rested  there. 

3.  The  man  answered  the  charge  easily. 

4.  HI  weeds  grow  apace. 

5.  Dead  dogs  never  bark. 

6.  Come  quickly. 


EXERCISES.  233 

EXERCISE   XX. 
Analyse  the  sentences  in  Exercises  XYIII.  and  XIX. 

EXERCISE   XXI. 

1.  What  is  a  complex  sentence  ?  2.  Define  a  subordinate  sentence. 
3.  In  what  three  ways  can  subordinate  sentences  occur  ?  4.  How  can 
subordinate  sentences  be  co-ordinate  ?  5.  Make  the  following  simple 
sentences  complex  by  expanding  the  adjective  into  an  adjectival  sen- 
tence : — 

(a)  Empty  vessels  make  the  most  noise. 

(b)  The  kitchen  clock  keeps  time. 

(c)  Small  strokes  fell  great  oaks. 

(d)  A  hard  hand  often  owns  a  soft  heart. 

(e)  The  relentless  reaper  destroyed  the  lovely  bloom. 
(/)  Is  this  the  Thracian  robber  ? 

(gf)    A  modest  violet  grew  in  a  shady  bed. 
{h)    I  said  to  my  nearer  comrade,  ' '  Hush  !  " 

EXERCISE   XXII. 

Make  subordinate  sentences  by  the  expansion  of  the  adverbs 
in  the  following  : — 

1.  He  writes  legibly. 

2.  The  king  behaved  shamefully. 

3.  The  rich  deride  the  poor  very  seldom. 

4.  Men  often  think  themselves  immortal. 

5.  Demosthenes  gradually  became  free  of  speech. 

6.  Stephenson  overcame  difficulties  bravely. 

EXERCISE   XXIII. 

Change  the  subjects  or  objects  into  sentences : — 

1.  It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here. 

2.  He  soon  learnt  to  read. 

3.  To  love  one's  child  is  natural. 

4.  Carelessness  brings  its  punishment. 

5.  Being  deserving  should  precede  success. 

6.  Reigning  in  peace  is  more  glorious  than  dying  in  war. 

7.  Borrowing  means  sorrowing. 

8.  Lending  is  not  always  befriending. 

EXERCISE   XXIV. 

Analyse  the  following  sentences  according  to  Scheme  IV.  :— 
(a)   "The  harp  that  once  through  Tara's  halls 
The  soul  of  music  shed, 
Now  hangs  as  mute  on  Tara's  walls 
As  if  that  soul  were  fled. " — Moore, 


234  EXERCISES. 

(6)    "  The  autumn  winds  rushing 

Waft  the  leaves  that  are  searest. 
But  our  flower  was  in  flushing 

When  blighting  was  nearest." — Scott. 

^c)    "Her  beads  while  she  numbered,  the  baby  still  slumbered, 
And  smiled  in  her  face,  while  she  bended  her  knee. 
'  Oh  !  blessed  be  that  warning,  my  child,  thy  sleep  adorning, 
For  I  know  that  the  angels  are  whispering  with  thee.'  " 

— S.  Lover. 


EXERCISE   XXV. 

Analyse  the  following  sentences  according  to  Scheme  Y.  : — 

(N.B. — This  is  the  scheme  prescribed  by  the  Department  for  the  scholar, 
ship  examination.) 

(a)   "  And  ye  that  byde  behinde, 
Have  ye  none  other  trust, 
As  ye  of  clay  were  cast  by  kynd, 
So  shall  ye  waste  to  dust." — Sir  T.  Wyatt. 

(6)    "  Ah  !  yet,  e'er  I  descend  into  the  grave, 

May  I  a  small  house  and  large  garden  have  ! 
And  a  few  friends,  and  many  books,  both  true, 
Both  wise,  and  both  delightful  too  !  " — Cowley. 

(c)    •'  Ring  ye  the  bells,  ye  young  men  of  the  town, 
And  leave  your  wonted  labours  for  this  day : 
This  day  is  holy  ;  do  you  write  it  down, 
That  ye  for  ever  it  remember  may. " — Drayton. 

{d)  "This  above  all — to  thine  own  self  be  true ; 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man. " — Shakespeare, 


EXERCISE   XXVI. 

Analyse,  as  in  the  preceding  : — 

(a)  "Take  physic,  pomp  ; 

Expose  thyself  to  feel  what  wretches  feel ; 
That  thou  may'st  shake  the  superflux  to  them, 
And  show  the  heavens  more  just." — Shakespeare. 

(6)    "When  God  with  us  was  dwelling  here. 
In  little  babes  He  took  delight ; 
Such  innocents  as  thou,  my  dear, 

Are  ever  precious  in  His  sight." — G.   Wither, 

(c)    "That  man  is  freed  from  servile  bands. 
Of  hope  to  rise,  or  fear  to  fall ; , 
Lord  of  himself,  though  not  of  lands. 

And  having  nothing,  yet  hath  all." — Wotton. 


EXERCISES.  235 

(d)  "-'The  seas  are  quiet  when  the  winds  give  o'er ; 
So  calm  are  we  when  passions  are  no  more  ; 
For  then  we  know  how  vain  it  was  to  boast 

Of  feeling  things  too  certain  to  be  lost." — WaZkr. 

EXERCISE   XXVIL 

Analyse,  as  before  : — 

(a)    "  Let  me  tell  the  adventurous  stranger, 
In  our  calmness  lies  our  danger ; 
Like  a  river's  silent  running, 
Stillness  shows  our  depth  and  cunning." — Dtir/ey, 

[b)  "  Presently  my  soul  grew  stronger  ;  hesitating  then  no  longer, 
*  Sir,'  said  I,  '  or  madam,  truly  your  forgiveness  I  implore  ;  _ 
But  the  fact  is  I  was  napping,  and  so  gently  you  came  rapping. 
And  so  faintly  you  came  tapping,  tapping  at  my  chamber  door, 
That  I  scarce  was  sure  I  heard  you. '  " — Foe. 
(c)    "  '  My  Lord  has  need  of  these  flowerets  gay,* 
The  reaper  said,  and  smiled  ; 
*  Dear  tokens  of  the  earth  are  they, 
Where  He  was  once  a  child.'  " — Longfellow, 


WOED-BUILDING  (p.  116). 

EXERCISE   L 

1.  What  is  a  root  ?  2.  Distinguish  between  root  and  stem.  3.  To 
what  are  inflexions  made?  4.  Define  derivative.  5.  What  are  pre- 
^xes  &nd  suffixes  ?  6.  Give  a  general  rule  for  their  use.  7.  What  is  a 
hybrid  1  8.  Define  covipound  as  applied  to  words.  9.  Say  of  each  of 
the  syllables  of  the  following  words  whether  it  is  a  prefix,  a  suffix,  a 
root,  a  derivative  or  an  inflexion:  un-law-ful,  male-child-ren,  dis-lik- 
ing,  short-sight-edf  ink-stand,  man-serv-ant. 

EXERCISE   IL 

Show  that  the  following  words  are  compounds  of  two  nouns  : — 
Monday,     xoheatfield,     rainbow,     homestead,      keystone,      Ladyday, 
Michaelmas,  costermonger,  steamship,  sheriff,  viceroy,  and  drake. 

EXERCISE   IIL 

Of  what  Part  of  Speech  is  each  of  the  words  of  the  following  com- 
pounds  ? — 

Whetstone,  outlay,  shepherd,  soft-soap,  nightmare,  backbone,  scapf 
grace,  lady,  wheatear,  fieldfare,  upstart,  and  steward. 


236  EXERCISES. 


EXERCISE  IV. 

In  the  following  compound  adjectives  say  to  what  Class  of  Word 
each  part  belongs  : — 

Skyblue,  stiffmched,  Lord-Mayor-lihe,  overreaching,  stonecold,  stark- 
wad,  weather-beaten,  threadbare,  loardrobe,  hairsplitting,  icebound,  awe- 
stricken,  and.  footsore. 

EXERCISE   V. 

What  other  Parts  of  Speech  have  been  used  to  make  up  the  fol- 
lowing compound  verbs  ? — 

Outface,  handcuff,  clearstarch,  outnumber,  whitewash,  ingather,  out- 
bid. 

.   EXERCISE   VI. 

Comment  on  each  of  the  following  adverbs  :  — 

Needs,  aboard,  afloat,  well,  thither,  how,  withal,  albeit,  seldom,  rather^ 
whilst,  whence. 

EXERCISE   Vn. 

Show  the  force  of  each  of  the  prefixes  in  the  following  words  : — 
Unloose,  unthankful,  forehead,  bewail,  withdreu),  misrepresent,  begrimCy 
wanhope,  gainsay,  behoof,  forlorn,  benighted,  atone. 

EXERCISE   VIII. 

Justify  the  use  of  the  prefixes  in  the  following  by  the  meaning  of 
each  word  : — 

Engrave,  offcast,  overdone,  inm^ost,  overland,  underpay,  outcome, 
thoroughfare,  embalm,  overstep,  welfare. 

EXERCISE   IX. 

Name  the  prefixes  in  the  following,  showing,  where  necessary,  the 
assimilation : — 

Allure,  acclaim,  abstract,  absolve,  assume,  affront,  aspire,  attract, 
arrest,  aggravate,  address,  pardon. 

EXERCISE   X. 

Show  the  force  of  the  prefixes  in — biped,  ambient,  circumnavigate, 
anticipate,  coeval,  desuetude,  cispontine,  transit,  countenance,  country^ 
dance,  corrode,  desiccate,  emigrate,  extramural. 

EXERCISE   XL 

Account  for  the  variations  from  the  original  prefix  in  each  of  the 
following  : — 

Differ,  irregular,  impending,  illiberal,  ignoble,  embrace,  occur,  sedition. 


EXERCISES.  237 


EXERCISE   XII. 

Show  the  value  of  the  prefixes  in  the  following  : — 

Interlude,  nonpareil,  malefactor,  international,  intramural,  penumbra, 
remit,  occasion,  permeate,  oblige,  post-obit,  predicate,  retrovert,  preterite, 
secure,  prevent. 

EXERCISE   Xm. 

Explain  the  prefixes,  noting  the  cases  of  assimilation  : — 
Vicar,  suffer,  surfeit,  viscouiit,  traduce,  trespass,  succeed,  unified,  sub- 
trahend, segregate,  succumb,  ultramarine,  superhuman,  suffix,  surface. 

EXERCISE   XIV. 

Give  instances  of  in  becoming  il,  ir,  im,  ig  ;  and  of  ob  becoming  oc, 
of,  o,  op.     State  a  general  rule  for  such  changes. 

EXERCISE   XV. 

Select  the  prefixes,  and  justify  the  use  of  each  : — 

Epidemic,  endemic,  atitonomy,  eclectic,  dyspepsia,  archiepiscopal, 
diatonic,  cataclysm,  apostasy,  antipathy,  anagram,  catastrophe,  eccentric, 
perimeter. 

EXERCISE   XVI. 

Show  the  value  of  the  prefixes  in — monologue,  Pantheon,  syllable, 
metathesis,  periosteum,  hyposulphite,  programme,  hyperbole,  hemiplegia, 
euphony,  synthesis,  Polynesia,  monarchy. 

EXERCISE   XVII. 

Give  the  root  and  the  suffix  in  each  of  the  following : — 
Fodder,  trickster,    thrift,   baxter,   penmanship,    hammock,    loveliness, 
straddle,  sapling,  chippings,  sisterhood,  carter,  starling,  collier,  sawyer. 

EXERCISE   XVIII. 

Explain  fully  the  suffixes  in  the  following  : — 

Mitten,  earldom,  stealth,  breadth,  handicraft,  rimecraft,  dininkard, 
laddie,  hardship,  haft,  spindle,  shuttle,  brazier,  whiting,  hilt,  handle. 

EXERCISE   XIX. 

Show  the  effect  of  the  suflSx,  by  giving  the  meanings  of  the  follow- 
ing words  : — 

Frolicsome,  knotty,  drowned,  clayey,  tvoollen,  leeward,  aivkward, 
scornful,  shamefaced,  saintlike,  knavish,  friendly,  Spanish,  bootless, 
sweetish,  scuttled,  glad,  left. 


238  EXERCISES. 


EXERCISE  XX. 

In  the  following  adverbs  show  the  force  of  the  suffixes,  noting 
hybrids  in  passing  : — 

Always,  straightway,  candidly,  didy,  once,  mysteriously,  noioise, 
sulkily,  stealthily,  sidelong,  seldom,  peculiarly. 

EXERCISE   XXI. 

Show  the  effect  of  the  suffix  in  each  of  the  following  verbs : — 
Stalk,  snivel,  falter,  strengthen,  flush,  twitter,  dribble,  trundle,  gush, 
glister,  blush,  draggle. 

EXERCISE   XXIL 

In  the  following  nouns  show  the  value  of  each  suffix : — 

Actor,  testament,  brigandage,  librarian,  consonant,  guttural,  resident, 

radiance,  patrimony,    tension,    laindary,   graduoM,  conduct,   presbyter, 

reticule. 

EXERCISE  XXIII. 

Explain  each  of  the  component  parts  of  the  following  hybrids : — 
Colour,   frailty,    bigamy,   atonement,    realize,     bondage,    starvation, 
foreigner,   billngualism,   unjustly,   grandfather,   martyrdom,  ungrateful, 
handkerchief,  unconceitedly ,  falsehood,  demigod,  witticism,  unacted,  art- 
ful, Cockneyism,  journalist,  blackguardism,  cerecloth,  druggist,  surname. 

EXERCISE   XXIV. 
Give  the  meanings  of  the  suffixes  in  Exercise  XXIIL 

EXERCISE   XXV. 

1.  What  are  the  following  pairs  of  words  called?  Potion  and 
poison;  cadence  and  chance.  2.  Give  the  corresponding  word  to  each 
of  the  following :  benison,  chattels,  malediction,  channel,  hotel,  redemp- 
tion.    3.  Give  the  meanings  of  the  suffixes. 

EXERCISE   XXVI. 

Give  the  meaning  of  each  of  the  suffixes  in  the  following  ad- 
jectives : — 

Arabesque,  ratable,  torrid,  arenaceous,  mundane,  sequent,  peninsular, 
riparian,  aromatic,  ductile,  pedantic,  submissive,  feminine,  virulent, 
jocose,  valedictory,  moribund,  umbragecus. 

EXERCISE   XXVII. 

] ,  Arrange  the  following  words  and  their  doublets  in  two  columns, 
distinguishing  the  French  from  the  Latin.  2.  Explain  the  suffixes  in 
the  words  and  the  doublets  you  supply.  Loyal,  regal,  fragile,  caitiff, 
second,  particle,  sample,  species. 


EXERCISES.  239 


EXEECISE   XXVIII. 

In  the  following  verbs  explain  the  suffixes : — 

Amplify,  expedite,  estimate,  coalesce,  deify,  publish,  pacify,  alienate^ 
embellish,  permeate,  extinguish. 

EXERCISE   XXIX. 

Show  the  force  of  the  suffixes  in  the  following,  distinguishing  be- 
tween the  Greek  and  hybrid  words  : — 

Axiomatic,  apostate, philanthropy,  witticism,  theorist,  nepotism,  paral- 
ysis, deism,  pessimist,  panorama,  minimise. 

EXERCISE   XXX. 

Show  the  derivation  of  the  following,  carefully  noting  hybrids : — 
Broth,   bough,  gnaio,  father,   bier,  brick,   know,   batch,  beetle,  kitten^ 

quickset,  beadle,  chilblain,   net,  jetsam,  nickname,  borrow,  blush,  kind, 

mead,  bakery,  club,  bugle,  draught,  ivindow,  eyelet. 

EXERCISE   XXXI. 

Derive  the  following  words  : — 

Nightingale,  orchard,  wright,  wrong,  grove,  whole,  trade,  stock,  taught, 
tung,  till,  garlic,  lady,  lodestar,  wake,  might,  nozTJle,  stile,  scoop,  waddle, 
lair,  pickerel,  scuttle,  slog,  weft,  wanton,  reap,  scrape,  sleeve. 

EXERCISE   XXXn. 

Select  from  the  following  Latin  words  those  coming  through  the 
French,  and  give  their  derivation  : — 

Inert,  claret,  ditto,  arcade,  precinct,  indent,  peal,  ancestor,  Decem- 
ber, courage,  city,  meridian,  cordial,  clause,  deign,  donor,  April,  excuse, 
occur,  course,  damsel,  domineer,  chapter,  alto. 

EXERCISE   XXXIII. 

From  the  following  select  those  words  coming  direct  from  the  Latin, 
and  give  their  derivation  : — 

Exculpate,  alimony,  reception,  altercation,  deception,  chant,  agile,  mis- 
creant, agrarian,  excuse,  equinox,  brief,  cruise,  bissextile,  corpse,  clam- 
our, eager,  auction. 

EXERCISE   XXXIV. 

From  the  following  list  select  the  words  coming  indirectly  from  the 
Latin,  and  give  their  derivation  : — 

Fount,  domiciliary,  colloquy,   mirage,  friar,   relict,   infringe,   Uable, 


240'  EXERCISES. 

force,,   religion,  affluent,   leaven,  flexible,   renegade,   collapse,   dismount^ 
featy  profile,  conjoint,  annex,   exhibit,  facet,  grateful,  memoir. 


EXERCISE   XXXV. 

Select  the  words  of  direct  Latin  origin  : — 

Dormouse,  fusible,  duke,  j^rofound,  ludicrous,  genteel,  manse,  redeem^ 
gesture,  absolute,  aberration,  progj^ess,  scent,  probity,  poignant,  repair, 
quarry^  vow,  tense,  terrible,  urbane,  insidious,  sexton,  sacrilege,  plausible. 


EXERCISE  XXXVI. 

Give  the  derivation  of  each  of  the  following  words  : — 
Date,  cosmetic,  surgeon,  nausea,  dogma,  economy,  dynamite,  catarrh, 
hematite,  idiot,  melancholy,  hieroglyphic. 


EXERCISE  XXXVII. 

Give  two  roots  for  each  of  the  following  words  : — 
Hypocrite,   aerolite,   demagogue,    onomatopoetic,   lithotomy,   tetrarch, 
kaleidoscope,   hydrophobia,  heliotrope,  catastrophe,  evangelist. 


EXERCISE   XXXVni. 

State  the  origin  of  the  following  words  :  — 

Lizard  Point,  panic,  tantalise,  ptetrel,  chimera,  cravat,  cicerone,  mar- 
tinet^ dunce,  euphuistic,  saturnine,  hermetically. 


EXERCISE   XXXIX. 

Trace  ihe  following  words  to  their  origin  : — 

Peach,   cherry,    damson,   rhubarb^  pheasant^    dollar^  florin^  guinea, 
solecism,  pistol,  laconic,  Utopian,  lumber. 


EXERCISE  XL. 

Show  the  origin  of  the  following  words  : — 

Babble,  i)itoxicate,  gadfly,  belfry,  liquorice,  bustard,  luncheon,  easel, 
buttery,  custard,  sheaf,  carouse,  stirrup,  causeway,  treacle,  crayfish, 
verdigris. 

EXERCISE   XLL 

Compare  the  original  with  the  modern  meaning  of  the  following 
words  : — 

Sycophant,  allovj,  restive,  gazette,  amuse,  handsome,  awkward,  hnave, 
blackguard,  mere,  brat,  painful,  censure,  cunning,  preposterous,  aiUy, 
vivacity. 


EXEECISES.  241 


PLAN  FOR  PARSING. 
When  parsing  a  word  observe  the  following  rules : — 

(i)  Use  no  abbreviation  that  is  vague  ;  avoid  the  possibility  of  being 
misunderstood. 

(ii)  When  any  other  word  is  quoted,  underline  it,  or  use  marks  of 
quotation. 

(iii)  Use  the  following  terms,  when  applicable,  and  in  the  order  as 
arranged : 

NOUNS. — KIND.     Proper  ;  Common  ;  Collective  ;  Abstract. 

GENDER.  Masculine  ;  Feminine  ;  Common  ;  Neuter. 

NUMBER.   Singular;  Plural. 

PERSON.  First;  Second;  Third. 

CASE.  Nominative,  subject  of  the  verb  ;  in  appo- 
sition  with   ;    of   address    (Vocative)  ; 

absolute ;  after  copulative  verb  . 

Possessive,  limiting  the  noun . 

Objective,   governed  directly  by  the   transitive, 
factitive,  causative,  prepositional,  or  cognate 

verb,   or  the  participle  ;    or  indirectly 

by  the  verb  or  participle  (Dative)  ;  or 

adverbial  object ;  or  governed  by  the  pre- 
position   ;  or  by  the  governing  Adjec- 
tive ——-  ;  or  in  apposition  with . 

PRONOUNS. — KIND.    Personal;    Relative,    agreeing    with    ita 

antecedent  in  gender,  person,  and  number; 
Interrogative  ;  Indefinite  j  Reciprocal  j 
Emphatic  ;  Reflexive  j 

GENDER, 

NUMBER,  ,     ,     , 

PERSON,     ^  ^'  "^  ^°^^'- 


CASE. 


242  EXERCISES. 

ADJECTIVES. — KIND.     Qualitative,    positive,    comparative,    or 

superlative  degree,  going  with  the  noun ; 

Quantitative,    indefinite    or    definite,    nu- 
meral,  cardinal,   or   ordinal,   or   distributive, 

limiting    the   noun    ;    Demonstrative, 

pointing  out  the  noun  . 


VERBS. — CLASS.  Transitive  (active  or  passive  Voice); 
Intransitive  ; 
Auxiliary,  of  voice,  mood,  tense,  or  emphasis. 

CONJUGATION.  Strong  or  Weak. 

MOOD.  Indicative,  assertive  or  interrogative  ; 

Imperative  ;  Subjunctive  ;  Infinitive  (nomina- 
tive, objective,  or  gerundial). 

TENSE.  Present  ;  Past  ;  Future.  Perfect  (complete), 
imperfect  (incomplete),  indefinite,  continuous 
(progressive). 

PERSON, 
NUMBER. 


'     >      Agreeing  with  the  subject 
R.  ) 


(PARTICIPLE)  (Active,  qualifying  the  noun  or  pronoun 

,   and   governing   the   noun  or  pronoun 

;  or  Passive). 


ADVERBS.— Of  TIME,  PLACE,  MANTSTER,  ASSERTION,  or  RE  A- 

SONING,  modifying  the  verb ;  of  DEGREE 

modifying  the  adverb  or  adjective 


DEGREE  of  comparison  (Pos. ;  Comp.  j  Sup.) 


PREPOSITIONS.--SIMPLE  or  COMPOUND,  governing  the  noun 

or  pronoun  — — . 


CONJUNCTIONS.— CO-ORDINATE. 
SUBORDINATE. 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  243 


SELECTIONS    FEOM    QUESTIONS    SET    AT    THE 

PUPIL-TEACHER  AND   SCHOLARSHIP 

EXAMINATIONS  IN  ENGLAND. 


The  figures  following  some  of  the  Questions  refer  to  the  'page  in  Meiklejohn's  Oram/mar. 


PUPIL-TEACHERS.— FIEST  YEAR. 

Requirements. — Parsing  and  analysis  of  simple  sentences,  with 
knowledge  of  the  ordinary  terminations  of  English  words.  Writing 
from  memory  the  substance  of  a  passage  of  simple  prose,  read  with 
ordinary  quickness. 

SET   A. 

1.  "  Toll  for  the  hrave  ! 

Brave  Kempenfelt  is  gone. 
His  last  sea-fight  i^  fought ; 
His  work  of  glory  done.^^ 

Analyse  these  lines,  and  parse  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  Explain  the  use  of  the  adjective  brave  in  the  first  line,  and  give 
similar  instances.      (10.) 

3.  Write  out  the  past  indefinite  tense  of  each  of  the  verbs,  toll,  gOy 
do,  fight.     (46.) 

SET   B. 

1.  "  Cowards  die  many  times  before  their  death, 

The  valiant  only  taste  of  death  but  once." — Shakespeare. 

Analyse  these  lines,  and  parse  them. 

2.  Point  out  any  English  terminations  in  them  ;  and  give  instances 
of  words  with  a  similar  ending.      (117.) 

3.  What  is  meant  by  mood^  and  how  many  moods  are  there  ?  Write 
out  the  imperative  mood  of  the  verb  to  die.     (38. ) 


SET   C. 

1.  Parse  and  analyse  the  following  : — 

"And  now  a  gallant  tomb  they  raise, 
With  costly  sculptures  decked  ; 
And  marbles  storied  with  his  praise 
Poor  Gelert'a  bones  protect." 


244  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

2.  Distinguish  between  an  inflexion  and  a  suffix,  illustrating  your  an- 
swer from  the  lines  above.      (100.) 

3.  Explain  the  apostrophe  in  Gelerfs.     "Write  down  the  possessive 
case  plural  number  of  ivoman,  ox,  mouse,  child,  and  son-in-law.      (20.) 

4.  When  a  singular  noun  ends  in  an  s  sound,  how  is  the  possessive 
sign  affected  ?     Give  examples.      (20.) 


SET   D. 

1.  "  Here  Ouse,  slow  unnding  through  a  level  plain 

Of  spacious  meads,  with  cattle  sprinkled  o^r^ 
Conducts  the  eye  along  his  sinuous  course 
Delighted. " — Cowper. 

Analyse  the  above,  parsing  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  Mention  verbs  ending  in  le,  like  sprinkle.      (118.) 

3.  Give  examples  of  adjectives  ending  in  ish  and  ew,  and  explain  the 
significance  of  those  terminations.     (116.) 


SET   E. 

1.  '*  Having  reached  the  house, 

I  found  its  rescued  inmate  safely  lodged. 
And  in  serene  possession  of  himself 
Beside  a  fire." 

Analyse  these  lines,  and  parse  the  words  printed  in  italics. 

2.  What  are  the  different  meanings  of  the  English  termination  en 
when  added  to  a  noun,  an  adjective,  and  a  verb  ?  Give  instances. 
(116-118.) 

3.  How  would  you  parse  a  noun  fully  ?    Explain  each  term  you  use, 
11.) 

SET  F. 

1.  ^^  But  now 

To  the  wide  world's  astonishment,  appeared 
A  glorious  opening,  the  unlooked-for  dawn 
That  promised  everlasting  joy  to  France. " 

Analyse  these  lines,  and  parse  the  words  printed  in  italics. 

2.  State  any  English  terminations  of  adjectives  which  mean  belonging 
to,  likeness,  direction,  and  negation,  and  give  instances  of  words  in 
which  they  occur.      (116-118.) 

3.  What  is  meant  by  regular,  irregular,  auxiliary,  defective,  tran- 
sitive,  and  intransitive  verbs  ?     (jrive  examples. 


SET  G. 

1.  Parse  this  sentence — 

"  He  needs  strong  arms  who  swims  against  the  tide.' 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  245 

2.  Say  how  many  sentences  there  are  in  this  verse,  and  what  is  the 
subject  and  predicate  of  each — 

' '  Sweet  bird  !  thy  bower  is  ever  green, 
Thy  sky  is  ever  clear ; 
Thou  hast  no  sorrow  in  thy  song, 
No  winter  in  thy  year." 

3.  Explain  what  is  meant  by  a  participle,  and  give  examples.     (40.) 

4.  Show  the  meaning  of  the  final  syllable  in  each  of  the  following 
words,  and  give  other  examples  of  words  of  the  same  formation : 
oxen,  golden,  darken,  hounden,  duckling,  streamlet^  readable,  singer, 
peaceful,  faithless.     (116-118.) 

SET   H. 

"I  now  gave  over  any  more  thoughts  of  the  ship,  or  o/ anything  out 
of  her,  except  what  might  drive  on  shore  from  her  wreck,  as  indeed 
divers  pieces  of  her  afterwards  did  ;  but  those  things  were  of  small  use 
to  me." 

1.  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  Define  the  adverb  and  the  preposition,  and  illustrate  the  distinc- 
tion by  examples  from  the  above  sentence. 

3.  Give  the  plural  forms  of  the  following  pronouns  :  mine,  me,  thine, 
she,  him,  my,  herself,  whatever. 

SET   I. 

1.  ^^  Bounded  the  fiery  steed  in  air, 

The  rider  sat  erect  and  fair, 

Then  like  a  bolt  from  steel  cross-bow 

Forth  launched,  along  the  plain  they  go." 

Analyse  this  passage,  and  parse  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  What  is  case  ?  How  do  you  know  the  nominative,  possessive, 
and  objective  cases?     (19.) 

3.  Point  out  the  affixes,  with  their  meaning,  in  the  following 
words :  scholar,  goodness,  friendship,  maiden,  speaker,  lambkin. 
(116-118.) 

SET   K. 

1.  Give  instances  (1)  of  nouns  which  have  no  singular,  and  (2)  of 
nouns  which  have  no  plural. 

2.  When  is  the  plural  suffix  s  pronounced  like  z  ?    (16.) 

3.  Parse  as  fully  as  you  can  the  words  in  italics  in  the  following 
lines : — 

"  See  the  dew-drops  how  they  kiss 
Every  little  flower  that  is, 
Hanging  on  their  velvet  heads 
Like  a  string  of  crystal  beads." 

4.  Analyse  the  above. 


246  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 


SET   L. 


1.  Which  consonants  are  called ^a^s,  and  which  are  called  sharps? 

(6.) 

2.  State  the  distinction  between  strong  and  weak  verbs  ;  and  give  the 
past  tense  and  passive  participles  of  the  following  verbs  :  to  creepy 
peep,  teach,  reach,  flay,  pay,  slay,  read,  lead,  tread.     (43-45.) 

3.  Give  the  comparative  and  superlative  of  the  adjectives :  evily 
little,  fore,  old,  sad,  bad,  happy,  gay.      (33.) 

4.  Parse  the  following  : — 

"  Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be, 
For  loan  oft  loses  both  itself  and  friend." 


PUPIL-TEACHERS.— SECOND  YEAR 

Requirements, — Parsing  and  analysis  of  sentences,  with  knowledge 
of  the  chief  Latin  prefixes  and  terminations.  Paraphrase  of  a  short 
passage  of  poetry. 

SET   A. 

1.  '*  >She,  good  cateress, 
Means  her  provision  only  to  the  good, 
That  live  according  to  her  sober  laws. 

And  holy  dictate  of  spare  temperance." — Gomus. 

Analyse  the  above,  parsing  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  What  Latin  prefixes  and  terminations  do  you  see  in  it  ?  (119- 
121.) 

3.  Paraphrase  the  passage.     ('*  She  "  refers  to  "  Nature.")     (176.) 

4.  How  is  the  prefix  in  (meaning  not)  modified  in  composition  ?  Give 
instances.     (108.) 

SET  B. 

•'In  short,  you  will  find  that  in  the  higher  and  better  class  of  works 
of  fiction  and  imagination,  you  possess  all  you  require  to  strike  your 
grappling-irons  into  the  souls  of  the  people,  and  to  chain  them  willing 
followers  to  the  car  of  civilisation." 

1.  Analyse  the  above  passage. 

2.  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 

3.  Show  wherein  prepositions  and  conjunctions  are  like  and  wherein 
they  are  U7ilike.      (58.) 

4.  When  is  a  noun  said  to  be  in  the  nominative,  possessive,  and  ob- 
jective cases  respectively  ?     (19.) 


EXAIvIINATION   QUESTIONS.  247 


SET   C. 


1.  Analyse  the  following  from  the  words  "then  burst  his  mighty 
heart,""  and  parse  the  words  in  italics  : — 

"  For. when  the  noble  Caesar  saw  him  stab, 
Ingratitude,  more  strong  than  traitors^  arms, 
Quite  vanquished  him  :  then  burst  his  mighty  heartf 
And  in  his  mantle  muflSing  up  his  face, 
Even  at  the  base  of  Pompey's  statua, 
Which  all  the  while  ran  blood,  great  Caesar  fell. " — Julius  Ccesar. 

2.  Point  out  and  explain  the  force  of  the  adjective  suffixes  in  the 
following  : — 

"At  which  time  would  I,  being  but  a  moonish  youth,  grieve,  be 
effeminate,  changeable,  proud,  fantastical,  apish,  shallow,  inconstant, 
full  of  tears,  full  of  smiles." — Shakespeare.      (123.) 

3.  Paraphrase  the  following  : — 

"  Music  the  fiercest  grief  can  charm, 
And  fate's  severest  rage  disarm  ; 
Music  can  soften  pain  to  ease, 
And  make  despair  and  madness  please ; 
Our  joys  below  it  can  improve, 
And  antedate  the  bliss  above. "     (176.) 


SET  D. 

1.  *^  Far  up  the  lengthening  lake  were  spied 

Four  darkening  specks  upon  the  tide. 
That,  slow  enlarging  on  the  view. 
Four  manned  and  masted  barges  grew. 
And,  bearing  dowmvards  from  dengyle. 
Steered  full  upon  the  opening  isle." 

Turn  this  passage  into  prose.      (176.) 

2.  Analyse  the  above  passage,  and  parse  the  words  in  italics. 

3.  What  is  the  meaning  of  ad,  ex,  and  ob  ?  Give  words  in  which 
they  occur.  How  and  when  are  they  sometimes  changed  in  composi- 
tion?    (107,  108.) 


SET   E. 

1,  *'  Immortal  glories  in  my  mind  revive^ 

And  in  my  soul  a  thousand  passions  strivCy 
When  Rome's  exalted  beauties  I  descry. 
Magnificent  in  piles  of  ruin  ^ie." — Addison. 

Analyse  the  above,  parsing  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  Point  out  any  Latin  prefixes  in  the  above,  and  give  their  mean- 
ings;  and  instance  other  words  in  which  they  occur.     (107,  108.) 


248  EXAMINATION    QUESTIONS, 

3.   Paraphrase  the  following  : — 

'  *  He  that  holds  fast  the  golden  mean, 
And  lives  contentedly  between 

The  little  and  the  great, 
Feels  not  the  wants  that  pinch  the  poor, 
Nor  plagues  that  haunt  the  rich  man's  door, 

Embittering  all  his  state."     (176.) 


SET   F. 

"  They  do  not  err 
Who  say  that  when  the  poet  dies 
Mute  nature  moans  her  worshipper. 
And  celebrates  his  obsequies  ; 
Who  say  tall  cliff  and  cavern  lone, 
For  the  departed  Bard  make  m,oan." 

Paraphrase  this  passage,  analyse  the  subordinate  sentences,  and  parse 
the  words  printed  in  italics.      (176.) 

2.  What  Latin  prefixes  occur  in  the  above  passage  ?     Mention  some 
words  in  which  these  prefixes  undergo  a  modification.      (107,  108.) 

3.  State  the  various  kinds  of  subordinate  sentences.      Why  are  they 
so  called  ?  and  how  are  they  distinguished  ?     (94. ) 


SET   G. 

1.  "  Hadst  thou  hut  lived,  though  stripped  of  power, 

A  watchman  on  the  lonely  tower, 

Thy  thrilling  trump  had  roused  the  land. 

When  fraud  or  danger  were  at  hand." 

Paraphrase  this  passage,  analyse  it,  and  parse  the  words  printed  in 
italics.      (176.) 

2.  Give  the  meanings  of  the  following  Latin  prefixes,  and  illustrate 
each  by  two  English  words  :  ad,  ante,  contra,  extra,  retro,  sub,  ultra. 
(107,  108.) 

3.  State,  with  examples,  some  of  the  Latin  terminations  in  English 
abstract  nouns.      (119.) 


SET   H. 

1.  "The  service  done,  the  mourners  stood  apart ;  he  called  to  mind 
how  he  had  seen  her  sitting  on  that  very  spot,  and  how  her  book  had 
fallen  on  her  lap  as  she  was  gazing  with  a  pensive  face  upon  the  sky. 
Another  told  how  he  had  wondered  that  one  so  delicate  as  she  should  be 
so  bold  ;  how  she  had  never /earec?  to  enter  the  church  alone  at  night.'' 

(a)  Point  out  the  subordinate  conjunctions  in  the  above.  State 
to  which  class  of  subordinate  conjunctions  each  belongs,  and  show  why 
such  conjunctions  are  called  subordinate.     (60.) 


EXAMINA.TION   QUESTIONS.  249 

(b)  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  How  can  you  tell  when  the  following  are  used  as  adverbs,  and 
when  as  conjunctions? — after,  before,  since.  Give  examples  of  them 
in  both  uses.     (60.) 

SET   I. 

1.  "  The  pass  was  left ;  for  then  they  wind 

Along  a  wide  and  level  green, 

Where  neither  tree  nor  tuft  was  seen." — Scoft. 

(a)  Show  from  the  above  passage  that  conjunctions  may  join  both 
principal  to  principal  sentences  and  subordinate  to  principal  sentences. 
(94.) 

{h)  Parse  the  participles  in  the  above,  and  show  how  participles  dif- 
fer from  verbs.      (40.) 

2.  In  analysis  an  enlargement  is  said  always  to  be  an  adjective,  or 
to  partake  of  the  nature  of  an  adjective.  This  being  so,  what  parts  of 
a  sentence  are  (properly  speaking)  capable  of  enlargement  ?  Give  ex- 
amples of  such  enlargements.     (94.) 


SET   K. 

1,  *'  It  is  the  first  mild  day  of  March, 

Each  minute  sweeter  than  before  ; 

The  redbreast  sings  from  the  tall  larch 

That  stands  beside  our  door. 

My  sister !  ('tis  a  wish  of  mine) 

Now  that  our  morning  meal  is  done, 

Make  haste,  your  morning  tasks  resign, 

Come  forth,  and  feel  the  sun." — Wordsworth. 

[a)  How  many  sentences  are  there  in  the  above  ?     Assign  each  to 
the  class  to  which  it  belongs. 
{b)  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  What  are  corresponding  conjunctions  ?  Give  a  list  of  them. 
(60.) 

SET   L. 

1.  "Before  a  novice  can  commence  the  study  of  any  science,  he 
must  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  terms  employed  in  that  science. " 

(a)  Point  out  the  principal  and  the  adverbial  sentence  in  the  above, 
and  show  why  each  is  so  called.      (95.) 

(6)  Mention  other  kinds  of  subordinate  sentences  besides  adverbial, 
and  give  an  example  of  each.      (94.) 

(c)  Point  out,  and  carefully  parse,  the  participles  and  auxiliary 
verbs  in  the  above. 

2.  What  are  causal  conjunctions  ?  Why  are  they  so  called  ?  Give 
examples.      (60. ) 


250  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 


PUPIL-TEACHERS.— THIRD   YEAR. 

Requirements. — Parsing,  analysis,  and  paraphrasing  of  complex  sen- 
tences. Prefixes  and  affixes  generally.  Knowledge  of  the  simple  tests 
by  which  English  words  may  be  distinguished  from  those  of  foreign 
origin. 

SET   A. 

1.  Analyse  the  following,  parsing  the  words  in  italics  : — 

"  Oh,  how  it  yearned  my  heart,  when  I  beheld. 
In  London  streets  that  coronation  day, 
When  Bolingbroke  rode  on  roan  Barbary  ! 
That  horse,  that  thou  so  often  hast  bestrid, 
That  horse,  that  I  so  carefully  have  dressed  ! " — Richard  II. 

2.  What  are  impersonal  verbs  ?     Give  examples. 

3.  What  is  the  origin  and  force  of  the  particle  be  in  beheld,  bestrid? 
Give  instances  of  it  as  a  prefix  to  nouns.      (104.) 

4.  Most  monosyllabic  words  are  of  English  origin.  Point  out  any 
exception  to  this  rule  in  the  above.      (132.) 


SET  B. 

1.  "The  whole  cavalcade  paused  simultaneously  when  Jerusalem 
appeared  in  view  ;  the  greater  number  fell  upon  their  knees,  and  laid 
their  foreheads  in  tne  dust,  whilst  a  profound  silence,  more  impressive 
than  the  loudest  exclamations,  prevailed  over  all ;  even  the  Moslems 
gazed  reverently  on  what  was  to  them  also  a  holy  city,  and  recalled  to 
mind  the  pathetic  appeal  of  their  forefather,  '  Hast  thou  not  a  bless- 
ing for  me,  also,  0  my  father  ?  ^  " 

Paraphrase  this  passage.      (177.) 

2.  Point  out  the  subordinate  sentences  in  it,  analyse  the  two  last, 
and  also  parse  the  last  of  them.      (89.) 

.3.  Point  out  also  and  explain  the  meaning  of  any  Latin  or  English 
prefixes  in  this  passage.     (104-110.) 


SET   C. 

1.  Morning /atV 

Came  forth,  with  pilgrim  steps  in  amice  gray, 
Who  with  her  radiant  finger  stiWd  the  roar 
Of  thunder,  chased  the  clouds,  and  laid  the  winds 
And  grisly  spectres  which  the  fiend  had  raised." — Milton, 

Analyse  the  foregoing,  parsing  the  words  in  italics. 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  251 

2.   Paraphrase  the  passage.      (^ mice  means  a  pilgrim's  robe.)     (177.) 
a.   Point   out   the  prefix  in   each   of  the   following    words  :     spend, 

enormous,  symmetry,  accede,  pellucid,  ignoble,  coagulate,  suppress,  com- 

busticm.     (104-112.) 


SET   D. 

1.  "These  feelings  I  shared  in  common  with  the  humblest  pilgrim 
that  was  kneeling  there,  and,  in  some  respects,  he  had  even  the  advan- 
tage  of  me  ;  he  had  made  infinitely  greater  sacrifices  than  I  had  done, 
and  undergone  far  heavier  toils,  to  reach  that  bourne.  Undistracted 
by  mere  temporal  associations,  he  only  saw  the  sacred  spot  wherein  the 
Prophets  preached,  and  David  sung,  and  Christ  had  died." 

Paraphrase  this  passage.      (177.) 

2.  Point  out  the  subordinate  sentences  in  it,  analyse  the  two  first, 
and  parse  the  second  of  them.      (90.) 

3.  What  are  the  means  of  readily  distinguishing  between  words  of 
English  and  of  Latin  origin?  Take  your  examples  from  the  above 
passage.     C221.) 


SET   E. 

1.  **  An  inadvertent  step  rnay  crush  the  snail 

That  craials  at  evening  in  the  public  path  ; 
But  he  that  has  humanity,  foreicarned, 
Will  tread  aside  and  let  the  reptile  live." 

Analyse  the  above,  parsing  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  Explain  how  the  word   aside  is  formed,   and  give   instances  oi 
adverbs  of  similar  formation.      (104.) 

3.  Point  out  a  Latin  prefix  and  a  Latin  sufl&x  in  the  above.      (107- 
110.) 

4.  Correct,  where  needful,  the  following  sentences  : — 

{a)  It  is  I  that  he  fears. 
(6)  He  is  a  boy  of  nine  years  old. 
(c)  Who  can  this  letter  be  from  ? 
{d)  I  feel  coldly  this  morning. 


SET   F 

1.  If  enlargements  are  words  and  phrases  attached  to  the  nouns  in  a 
sentence,  and  extensions  words  or  phrases  attached  to  the  verbs  or 
predicates,  assign  all  the  enlargements  and  extensions  which  occur  in 
the  following  to  their  proper  classes  : — 

(a)   "  The  harp,  his  sole  remaining  joy, 
Was  carried  by  an  orphan  boy.'* 


252  EXAMINATION    QUESTIONS. 

(6)   **  Ocean  and  earth,  the  solid  frame  of  earth, 
And  ocean's  liquid  mass,  in  gladness  lay 
Beneath  him." 

(c)   "The  sheen  of  their  spears  was  like  stars  on  the  sea, 
When  the  blue  wave  rolls  nightly  on  deep  Galilee." 

2.  Parse  any  participles,  or  verbs  in  the  infinitive  mood,  which  occur 
in  the  following,  and  give  the  meaning  of  the  passage  in  simple  words 
of  your  own  : — 

*'  Blest  be  the  art  that  can  immortalise, 
The  art  that  baffles  time's  tyrannic  claim 
To  quench  it." 

3.  With  what  Latin  prepositions  are  the  words  support,  suffice,  effect, 
destroy,  compounded  ?  Give  the  meaning  of  the  preposition  in  each 
case.     (107-110.) 

SET   G. 

1.  Words  or  phrases  attached  to  the  nouns  of  a  sentence  are  called 
enlargements  ;  attached  to  the  verbs  they  are  called  extensions.  Give 
two  examples  of  each.     (89.) 

2.  "  Dost  thou  so  hunger  for  my  empty  chair, 

That  thou  wilt  needs  invest  thee  with  mine  honours  ? 

Stay  but  a  little  ;  for  my  cloud  of  dignity 

Is  held  from  falling  with  so  weak  a  wind. 

That  it  will  quickly  drop." — Shakespeare:  Henry  IF. 

{a)  Analyse  the  last  three  lines. 
{b)  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 

(c)  Give  the  meaning  of  the  above  passage  in  your  own  words,  ex- 
plaining, so  far  as  you  can,  the  figures  and  metaphors. 

3.  What  are  the  Latin  prepositions  that  mean  out  of,  from,  under  ? 
Give  examples  of  words  in  which  they  occur,  pointing  out  the  force  of 
the  preposition  in  each  case.     (107.) 


SET   H. 

1.  What  is  the  derivation  of  the  word  transitive,  and  how  is  the 
derivation  connected  with  the  use  of  the  words  transitive,  intransitive, 
in  grammar  ? 

2.  "When  I  came  to  my  castle  I  fled  into  it  like  one  pursued; 
whether  I  went  over  by  the  ladder  or  %oeiU  in  at  the  hole  which  I 
called  a  door,  I  cannot  remember ;  no,  nor  could  I  remember  the  next 
morning ;  for  never  frighted  hare  fled  to  cover,  or  fox  to  earth,  with 
more  terror  of  mind  than  I  to  this  retreat." — Defoe. 

(a)  Analyse  the  above  passage  from  "When  I  came"  to  "next 
morning."     (94.) 

(6)  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  253 


SET   I. 

1.  '*  And  waiting  to  be  treated  like  a  wolf, 

Because  I  knew  my  crimes  were  known,  I  found. 

Instead  of  scornful  pity,  such  a  grace 

Of  tenderest  courtesy,  that  I  began 

To  glance  behind  me  at  my  former  life. 

And  find  that  it  had  been  the  wolf's  indeed. " —  Tennyson. 

{a)  Point  out  the  noun  sentences  in  the  above,  and  analyse  them. 
(95.) 

(h)  Point  out  any  enlargement  of  the  subject  or  extension  of  the 
predicate  that  you  notice  in  the  above.      (93.) 

(c)  Parse  all  the  participles  and  verbs  in  the  infinitive  mood  that 
occur  in  the  above. 

2.  Of  what  Latin  prepositions  are  the  following  words  compounded  : 
Amputate,  efface,  circuit,  collision,  jpre/ace,  succeed,  suffuse,  sojourn^ 
tradition."     (107-110.) 

SET  K. 

1,  *'  It  is  great  sin  to  swear  unto  a  sin, 

But  greater  sin  to  keep  a  sinful  oath. 
Who  can  be  bound  by  any  solemn  vow 
To  do  a  murderous  deed,  to  rob  a  man, 
To  reave  the  orphan  of  his  patrimony 
And  have  no  other  reason  for  this  wrong 
But  that  he  was  bound  by  a  solemn  oath  ? " 

— King  Henry  VI. 

(a)  Parse  all  the  words  in  the  last  line. 

(6)  Analyse  the  two  sentences  contained  in  the  last  two  lines, 
supplying  any  words  that  are  required  to  make  the  analysis  complete. 

N.B. — Take  care  to  point  out  the  character  of  each  sentence.      (95.) 

(c)  When  is  the  infinitive  mood  used  without  being  preceded  by  the 
word  to  ?  Give  examples  of  this  from  the  above  passage,  and  mention 
others  that  occur  to  you.      (39.) 

2.  Write  the  subject-matter  of  a  lesson  on  either  of  the  following  : 
Mood,  Tense. 

•  3.  Give  the  Latin  prepositions  that  mean  under,  with,  across,  out  of. 
(107-110.) 

SET  L. 

1.  **  The  voice  of  Enid  rang 

Clear  through  the  open  casement  of  the  hall, 

Singing ;  and  as  the  sweet  voice  of  a  bird 

Heard  by  the  lander  in  a  lonely  isle 

Moves  him  to  think  what  kind  of  bird  it  is 

That  sings  so  delicately  clear,  and  make 

Conjecture  of  the  plumage  and  the  form  ; 

So  the  sweet  voice  of  Enid  moved  him." — Tennyson, 


254  EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS. 

(a)  Point  out  and  analyse  the  noun  sentence  in  the  above  passage. 
(94.) 

(h)  Parse  the  participles  and  infinitive  moods  in  the  above  passage. 
(39,  40.) 

(c)  Explain  how  the  word  what  is  used  in  the  fifth  line,  and  give 
other  uses  of  the  same  word.      (27. ) 

{d)  Give  the  meaning  of  the  above  passage  in  plain,  simple  words  of 
your  own.      (177.) 

2.  Give  examples  of  words  compounded  with  the  Latin  preposition 
in  (meaning  in,  into).  Mention  some  words  in  which  the  affix  i7i  has 
quite  a  different  meaning,  and  state  what  that  meaning  is.      (105.) 


PUPIL-TEACHERS.— FOURTH  YEAR. 

Requirements.  — Fuller  knowledge  of  grammar  and  analysis,  and  of  the 
common  Latin  roots  of  English  words.  Outline  of  the  history  of  the 
language  and  literature. 


SET  A. 

1.  ''Now  stir  the  fire,  and  close  the  shutters /a«^, 

'Let  fall  the  curtains,  wheel  the  sofa  round, 
And  while  the  bubbling  and  loud  hissing  urn 
Throws  up  a  steamy  column^  and  the  cups 
That  cheer  but  not  inebriate,  wait  on  each, 
So  let  us  welcome  peaceful  evening  in." 

Analyse  the  above  passage,  and  parse  the  words  in  italics.     (95. ) 

2.  From  what  source  is  the  word  sofa  derived  ?  Mention  other 
words  derived  from  the  same  source.      (263. ) 

3.  To  what  dates  and  events  would  you  assign  the  adoption  and  the 
discontinuance  of  French  as  the  language  of  the  Court  and  nobility  in 
England?     (226.) 

4.  Name  the  authors  of  the  following  works  :  '  Paradise  Lost,' 
'The  Faery  Queen,'  'Vanity  Fair,'  'Robinson  Crusoe,'  'The  Task,' 
'  Kenilworth,'  '  The  Excursion,'  '  The  Idylls  of  the  King.'     (369.) 


SET   B. 

1.  "  And  0,  ye  swelling  hills  and  spacious  plains  ! 

Besprent  from  shore  to  shore  with  steeple-towers, 
And  spires  whose  silent  finger  points  to  heaven ; 
Nor  wanting,  at  wide  intervals,  the  bulk 
Of  ancient  minster  lifted  above  the  cloud 
Of  the  dense  air,  which  town  or  city  breeds. 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  255 

To  intercept  the  sun's  glad  beams — may  ne'er 
That  true  succession  fail  of  English  hearts, 
Who,  with  ancestral  feeling,  can  perceive 
What  in  those  holy  structures  ye  possess 
Of  ornamental  interest." 

Paraphrase  this  passage.     (177.) 

2.  Point  out  in  it  the  subordinate  sentences,  and  analyse  and  parse 
fully  the  last  sentence.      (95.) 

3.  What  kinds  of  English  words  are  derived  from  the  Anglo-vSaxon 
language  ?  State  any  difference  in  inflexion  between  the  English  and 
Anglo-Saxon  languages.     (202.) 


SET   C. 

1.  **  The  poet,  fostering  for  his  native  land 

Such  hope,  entreats  that  servants  may  abound 
Of  those  pure  altars  worthy  ;  ministers 
Detached  from  pleasure,  to  the  love  of  gain 
Superior,  insusceptible  of  pride, 
And  by  ambitious  longings  undisturbed ; 
Men  whose  delight  is  where  their  duty  leads 
Or  fixes  them  ;  whose  least  distinguished  day 
Shines  with  some  portion  of  that  heavenly  lustre 
Which  makes  the  Sabbath  lovely  in  the  sight 
Of  blessed  angels,  pitying  human  cares." 

Paraphrase  this  passage.     (177.) 

2.  Point  out  the  subordinate  sentences  in  it,  and  analyse  and  parse 
fully  the  noun  sentence.  Point  out  also  any  adjectives  of  Latin  origin. 
(95,  109.) 

3.  State  the  various  ways  by  which  words  of  Latin  origin  have 
been  introduced  into  our  language.     (209.) 


SET   D. 

1.  **It  is  well  known  to  the  learned  that  the  ancient  laws  of  Attica 
rendered  the  exportation  of  figs  criminal  —  that  being  supposed  a 
species  of  fruit  so  excellent  in  Attica  that  the  Athenians  deemed  it  too 
delicious  for  the  palate  of  any  foreigners  ;  and  in  this  ridiculous  pro- 
hibition they  were  so  much  in  earnest  that  informers  were  thence 
called  sycophants  among  them." — Hume. 

Analyse  each  of  the  sentences  in  the  above  which  begins  with  the 
word  that.      (95.) 

2.  Parse  each  word  in  the  following :  "  That  being  supposed  a 
species  of  fruit  so  excellent." 

3.  Write  out  a  list  of  words  compounded  or  derived  from  the  Latin 
verbs,  amo.  duco,ferOy  audio.     (132,  133.) 


256  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 


SET   E. 

1.  **  ^Twas  now  a  place  of  punishment ; 

Whence  if  so  loud  a  shriek  were  sent. 
As  reached  the  upper  air, 
The  hearers  blessed  themselves  and  said. 
The  spirits  of  the  sinful  dead 
Bemoaned  their  torments  there." 

Analyse  this  passage,  and  parse  the  words  in  italics. 

2.  From  what  Latin  roots  are  the  following  words  derived  ?  library, 
locomotion,  eloquence,  elucidate,  legitimate,  lunatic,  extravagant.  (132- 
134.) 

3.  When  did  the  following  writers  live,  and  what  are  their  principal 
works?    Spenser,  Pope,  Milton,  Locke,  Bacon,  Chaucer.      (368.) 


SET   F. 

1.  "  Learning  hath  his  infancy,  when  it  is  hut  beginning  and  almost 
childish  :  then  his  yoidh,  when  it  is  luxuriant  and  juvenile  :  then  his 
strength  of  years,  when  it  is  solid  and  reduced :  and  lastly  his  old  age, 
when  it  waxeth  dry  and  exhaust.  But  it  is  not  good  to  look  too  long 
upon  these  turning  wheels  of  vicissitude,  lest  we  become  giddy." — Bacon. 

Analyse  this  passage  down  to  the  word  ^'exhaust,"  and  parse  the 
words  in  italics.     (95.) 

2.  Comment  on  the  use  of  the  pronoun  his  in  it,  and  mention  any 
similar  use  of  it  in  another  passage.      (24.) 

3.  Point  out  any  words  in  the  above  which  have  a  Latin  root. 
(132,  133.) 

4.  Mention  any  great  writers  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  their 
works.     (378,  379.) 


SET   G. 

1.  **  Be  useful  where  thou  livest,  that  they  may 

Both  want  and  wish  thy  pleasing  presence  still. 
Kindness,  good  parts,  great  places,  are  the  way 

To  compass  this.    Find  out  men^s  wants  and  will, 
And  meet  them  there.     All  worldly  joys  go  less 
To  the  one  joy  of  doing  kindnesses." — George  Herbert,  1633, 

(a)  Write  out  the  meaning  of  the  above  in  your  own  words.     (177.!i 

(6)  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 

(c)  Analyse  the  first  two  lines.      (95.) 

{d)  How  is  the  word  that  used  in  the  first  line  ?  Give  examples  of 
the  different  ways  in  which  the  word  that  is  employed.      (60.) 

2.  Mention  some  of  the  classes  of  words  in  our  language  which  are 
generally  of  Latin  origin.     Give  examples.     (234.) 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  257 


SET   H. 

1.  Analyse  the  following,  parsing  the  words  in  italics  : — 

' '  No  voice  divine  the  storm  allayed  ; 
No  light  propitious  shone  ; 
Whe7i4far  from  all  effectual  aid. 
We  perished — each  alone  ; 
But  /  beneath  a  rougher  sea 
And  whelmed  in  blacker  gulfs  than  he." — Gowper. 

2.  Point  out  any  words  in  the  above  derived  from  Latin,  or  from 
Latin  through  French.      (220.) 

3.  In  English  almost  any  part  of  speech  may  be  used  as  any  other- 
part  of  speech.     Illustrate  this.      (62.) 

4.  To  what  period  of  our  literature  do  the  following  writers  respec- 
tively belong?   Alfred  the  Great,  Chaucer,  Spenser,  Cowper.     (368.) 


SET   L 

1.  "I  would  the  great  world  grew  like  thee, 

Who  grewest  not  alone  in  power 
And  knowledge,  but  from  hour  to  hour 
In  reverence  and  in  charity." — Tennyson. 

Analyse  this  stanza;  and  explain,  if  you  can,  its  metre.     (95,  178.) 

2.  Give  the  etymology  and  exact  meaning  of  as  many  of  the  follow- 
ing words  as  you  can  :  fortress,  fortitude,  subscribe,  superior,  domina- 
tion, rectitude,  impossible,  construction,  export.      (132,  133.) 

3.  Give  an  example  of  an  "infinitive  of  purpose";  and  also  of  an 
fnfinitive  used  as  equivalent  to  a  noun.      (82.) 

4.  Say  what  you  know  about  the  life  and  writings  of  Milton,  Pope, 
or  Dr  Johnson.     (368.) 

SET   K. 

1.  Break  up  the  following  complex  sentence  into  simple  sentences, 
beginning  a  new  line  with  each  simple  sentence  : — 

•'  All  crimes  shall  cease  and  ancient  frauds  shall  fail, 
Returning  justice  lift  aloft  her  scale, 
Peace  o'er  the  world  her  olive  wand  extend, 
And  white-robed  Innocence  from  heaven  descend." 

2.  Parse  the  verbs  and  participles  in  the  above. 

3.  What  conjunctions  should  be  followed  by  the  subjunctive  mood? 
Give  four  examples,  using  a  different  conjunction  in  each.      (60.) 

4.  Point  out  which  of  the  following  words  are  of  Keltic,  and  which 
are  of  Saxon  origin  ;  and  state  what  class  of  things  (generally)  have 
Keltic  names :  sheep,  ship,  bread,  milk,  basket,  mop,  mattock,  pail. 
(206.) 


2.58  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 


SET   L. 


1.  Are  Anglo-Saxon  and  English  dififerent  languages?  or  what  is 
their  relation  to  one  another?     (206.) 

2.  "The  Batavian  territory,  conquered  from  the  waves  and  defended 
against  them  by  human  art,  was  in  extent  little  superior  to  the  princi- 
pality of  Wales  ;  but  all  that  narrow  space  was  a  busy  and  populous 
hive,  in  which  new  wealth  was  every  d^ty  created,  and  in  which  vast 
nasses  of  old  wealth  tcere  hoarded.^'' — Macaulay. 

[a)  How   many   different    sentences    are    contained    in    the    above  ? 
Assign  each  to  its  proper  class. 
(6)  Parse  the  words  in  italics. 

3.  "When  should  the  word  the  be  considered  as  an  adverb  ?  Give 
instances.     (30.) 


SCHOLARSHIR 

SET  A. 

( Two  hours  and  a  half  allowed  for  this  paper. ) 

No  abbreviation  of  less  than  three  letters  to  be  used  in  parsing  or 
^     analysis.       All    candidates    must    do    the    composition,    parsing,    and 
analysis. 

Composition. 

Write  a  letter,  or  an  essay,  on  one  of  the  following  subjects  : — 
(a)  Your  favourite  flowers,  and  the  way  to  cultivate  them. 
(6)  The  moral  lessons  of  the  microscope  and  the  telescope, 
(c)  The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  town  life  as  compared  with 
life  in  the  country. 

{d)  Examinations.     (159.) 

Grammar. 

1.   Parse  the  words  in  italics  in  the  following  passage,  not  omitting 
to  give  and  explain  their  syntax : — 

"  Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  haih  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land  ! 
WhosQ  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burned 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned 
Erom  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand  ? 
If  such  there  breathe,  go,  mark  him  well ; 
For  him  no  minstrel  raptures  swell ! 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  259 

High  though  his  titles,  proud  his  name, 
Boundless  his  wealth,  as  wish  can  claim, 
Despite  those  titles,  power,  and  pelf. 
The  wretch  concentred  all  in  self, 
Living,  shall  forfeit  fair  renown, 
And,  doubly  dying,  shall  go  down 
To  the  vile  dust  from  whence  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unhonoured,  and  U7isung." 

2.  Analyse  either  the  first  or  the  last  half  of  the  above  passage  into 
its  component  sentences,  and  show  in  separate  columns — 

(a)  The  nature  of  the  sentence. 

(6)  (If  dependent)  its  relation  to  the  principal  sentence. 

(c)  Subject.  (d)  Its  enlargements  (if  any). 

(e)  Predicate.  (/)  Its  extensions  (if  any). 

(g)  Object  (if  any).  (h)  Its  enlargements  (if  any).    (95.) 

3.  Explain  by  a  paraphrase,  or  otherwise,  the  portion  of  the  passage 
which  you  take  for  analysis.      (177.) 

4.  Examine  and  illustrate  the  etymology  of  any  five  of  the  following 
words  from  the  above :  Oum,  native,  whose,  heart,  foreign,  minstrel, 
raptures,  titles,  boundless,  claim,  wretch,  concentred,  forfeit,  renown. 
(127-144.) 

5.  Distinguish  common,  proper,  and  abstract  nouns, — cardinal  and 
ordinal  numbers, — intransitive  and  neuter  verbs, — continuative  and  dis- 
junctive conjunctions, — personal,  possessive,  reflexive,  and  relative 
pronouns. 

6.  It  is  often  said  that  English  is  less  of  an  inflected  language  in  its 
latter  than  in  its  earlier  stages.  Explain  what  is  meant  by  this,  and 
give  a  few  instances  of  inflexion  in  English  as  now  spoken.      (61.) 

7.  Show  by  examples  how  analysis  helps  us  to  parse  correctly. 
(90.) 

8.  At  which  periods,  and  in  connection  with  what  events,  in  the 
history  of  this  island,  did  the  most  important  changes  take  place  in  the 
language  of  the  inhabitants  ?     Illustrate  your  answer.     (202-238.) 


SET   B. 
{Directions  as  in  A.) 

Composition. 

Write  a  letter,  or  an  essay,  on  one  of  the  following  subjects  : —  " 
(a)  Singing  birds. 

{b)  Fairy  tales. 

(c)  Best  way  of  spending  holidays. 
{d)  Advantages  of  the  study  and  knowledge  of  geography.      (159.) 

Grammar. 

1.  Parse  the  words  in  italics  in  the  following  passage,  not  omitting 
to  give  and  explain  their  syntax  : — 


260  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

"  I  met  a  traveller  from  an  antique  land, 

Who  said  :   '  Two  vast  and  trunkless  legs  of  stone 
Stand  in  the  Desert.      Near  thetn,  on  the  sand, 
Half-sunk,  a  shattered  visage  lies,  whose  frown 
And  wrinkled  lip  and  sneer  of  cold  command. 
Tell  that  the  sculptor  well  those  passions  read 
Which  still  survive,  stamped  on  these  lifeless  things, 
The  hand  that  mocked  them,  and  the  hea7't  thsit  fed: 
And  on  the  pedestal  these  words  appear : 
*  My  name  is  Ozymandias,  King  of  kings  ; 
Look  on  my  works,  ye  mighty,  and  despair  ! ' 
Nothing  beside  remains.      Round  the  decay 
Of  that  colossal  wreck,  boundless  and  bare, 
The  lone  and  level  sands  stretch  far  away.^^ 

2.  Analyse  either  the  first  or  the  last  half  of  the  above  passage. 
(95.) 

3.  Explain  by  a  paraphrase,  or  otherwise,  the  passage  from  "Near 
them"  down  to  "that  fed."     (177.) 

4.  Examine  and  illustrate  the  etymology  of  any  five  of  the  follow- 
ing words  from  the  above  sonnet :  traveller^  visage,  passions,  survive, 
despair,  level,  boundless^  lone,  decay,  colossal,  desert,  lip,  pedestal.  (100- 
144.) 

5.  Show  by  definition  and  examples  what  is  meant  by  {a)  substan- 
tive, (&)  intransitive,  (c)  passive,  {d)  defective,  (e)  strong  (irregular) 
and  (/)  weak  (regular)  verbs.  To  which  of  the  two  last-named  classes 
would  you  refer  the  verbs  to  lead,  to  spread,  to  show,  to  sweep,  to  spend  ? 
and  why?     (34-56.) 

6.  Give  your  definition  of  an  adverb,  a  preposition,  and  a  conjimc- 
tion,  and  show  by  examples  the  difference  between  each  of  them  and 
the  other  two.  Can  you  mention  any  words  belonging  to  these  three 
classes  which  cannot  be  parsed  without  knowing  their  position  iii  a 
sentence?     (57-60.) 

7.  Give  a  short  historical  sketch,  with  dates,  of  the  origin  and 
growth  of  the  English  language.     (199-201.) 


SET   C. 

{Directions  as  in  A.) 
Composition. 

Write  a  letter  on  one  of  the  following  subjects ; 

(1)  Gardening, 

(2)  A  storm  at  sea. 

(3)  A  day's  angling. 

(4)  Some  public  park.      (159.) 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  261 


Grammar. 

1.  Parse  fully  the  words  italicised  in  the  following  sentences  (syntax 
is  an  essential  part  of  parsing) : — 

' '  For  who  would  hear 
The  insolence  of  office  and  the  spurns 
That  patient  merit  of  the  mncorthy  takes, 
But  that  the  dread  of  something  after  death, 
The  undiscovered  country  from  whose  bourne 
No  traveller  returns,  puzzles  the  will, 
And  makes  us  rather  bear  those  ills  we  have 
Thanjly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of?  " 

2.  Analyse  the  sentence  in  Question  1.      (86-99.) 

3.  Select  and  classify  the  pronouns,  conjunctions,  and  prepositions 
in  the  same  sentence. 

4.  Explain  the  terms  cardinal,  ordinal,  and  indefinite  numerals,  and 
give  examples  of  each.      (29-31.) 

5.  Give  the  past  tenses  of  the  verbs  croio,  heiv,  sing,  win,  help,  hid, 
chide,  ivrite,  dig,  lie,  get,  shear,  and  any  obsolete  forms  of  those  tenses. 
(46,  47.) 

6.  Classify  the  English  conjunctions,  and  show  that  they  are  fre- 
quently derived  from  verbs. 

7.  Explain  the  force  of  the  following  affixes  :  -dom,  as  in  martyr- 
dom ;  -some,  as  in  handsome ;  -less,  as  in  speechless ;  -ible,  as  in  inflex- 
ible;  and  give  other  examples  of  each  affix.      (100-124.) 

8.  Define  a  preposition,  and  show  by  examples  that  prepositions  do 
not  always  precede  the  noun  they  govern.     (58. ) 

9.  Give  examples  of  noun,  adjective,  and  adverbial  clauses,  em- 
ployed as  subordinate  sentences.     (95.) 

10.  Name  the  sources  of  our  language  from  which  the  following 
words  are  derived  :  hat,  shoe,  vest,  glove,  sock,  bonnet,  ribbon,  tunic, 
shirt.     (128-144.) 


SET   D. 

{Directions  as  in  A.) 

Composition. 

Write  a  letter,  or  an  essay,  on  one  of  the  following  subjects : — 
(a)  Common  fruits. 
(J)  Football. 

(c)  Modes  of  travelling. 

(d)  The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  living  in  an  old,  or  in  a 
newly  settled,  country,  compared.     (159.) 

Grammar. 
1.  Parse  the  words  in  italics  in  the  following  passage,  not  omitting 


262  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

to  give    and   explain    tlieir  syntax,   and    carefully   distinguishing  the 
words  which  occur  twice  over  :  — 

"  For  therein  stands  the  office  of  a  King, 
His  l^onour,  virtue,  merit,  and  chief  praise, 
That  for  the  public  such  a  weight  he  bears. 
Yet  he  who  reigns  icithin  himself,  and  rules 
Passions,  desires,  and  fears,  is  -tnore  a  King : 
Which  every  wise  and  virtuous  man  attains ; 
And  who  attains  not,  ill  asj)ires  to  rule 
Cities  of  men  or  headstrong  multitudes. 
Subject  himself  to  anarchy  within, 
Or  lawless  passions  in  him,  which  he  serves." 

2.  Analyse  the  passage.      (95. ) 

3.  Of  the  15  nouns  in  the  above  passage,  5  are  of  Anglo-Saxon,  8  of 
Latin,  and  2  of  Greek  origin.  Classify  them  accordingly.  About  which 
word  only  may  there  be  a  difference  of  opinion,  and  why?     (131-137.) 

4.  Make  a  list  of  the  auxiliary  verbs,  distinguishing  those  of  mood 
from  those  of  tense.      (53.) 

5.  Give  examples  of  English  words  in  which  differences  of  (a)  case, 
{b)  number,  (c)  gender,  (cZ)  degree,  (e)  mood,  (/)  tense,  (g)  voice,  are 
indicated  by  changes  in  the  form  of  the  word  itself  {iiiflexion).     (11.) 

6.  Point  out  the  historical  order  in  which  the  several  foreign  ele- 
ments were  incorporated  into  the  English  language.  During  what 
period  did  English  seem  to  be  dying  out,  and  under  what  circum- 
stances and  influences  did  it  revive?    (198-202.) 


SET   E. 

[Two  hours  and  a  half  allowed  for  this  paper.) 

No  abbreviation  of  less  than  three  letters  to  be  used  in  parsing  or  analysis. 

Sectiox  I. — Parse  fully  the  words  in  italics  in  the  following  pas- 
sages (syntax  should  not  be  neglected  in  the  parsing) : — 

"  Yet  mourn  not.  Land  of  Fame, 
Though  ne'er  the  Leopards  on  thy  shield 
Retreated  from  so  sad  a  field, 
Since  Norman  William  came. 
Oft  may  thine  annals  justly  boast 
Of  battles  stern  by  Scotland  lost ; 
Grudge  not  her  victory. 
"When  for  her  freeborn  rights  she  strove^ 
Rights  dear  to  all  who  freedom  love. 
To  none  so  dear  as  thee.^^ 

"  One  evening,  as  the  Emperor  was  returning  to  the  palace  through  a 
xidLTXQ-w  portico,  an  assassin  who  waited  his  passage  rushed  upon  him 
with  a  drawn  sword,  loudly  exclaiming,  '  The  Senate  sends  you  this.^ 


EXAMINATION    QUESTIONS.  263 

Section  II. — Point  out  the  subjects,  predicates,  and  objects,  with 
their  extensions,  enlargements,  or  complements  (if  any),  in  the  follow- 
ing sentences : — 

Remember,  prince,  that  thou  shalt  die. 

Whoever  reflects  upon  the  uncertainty  of  his  own  life,  will  find  out 
that  the  state  of  others  is  not  more  permanent. 

This  exuberance  of  money  displayed  itself  in  wantonness  of  expense, 
and  procured  for  me  the  acquaintance  of  others  equally  favoured  by 
Fortune.      (95.) 

Section  III. — Point  out  clearly  the  relations  which  the  sentences 
included  in  brackets  in  the  following  passages  bear  to  their  principal 
sentences,  and  give  your  reasons  for  assigning  each  relation : — 

He  (that  would  pass  the  latter  part  of  his  life  with  honour)  must 
(when  he  is  young)  consider  (that  he  shall  one  day  be  old)  and  re- 
member (when  he  is  old)  (that  he  has  once  been  young).      (95.) 

(When  Socrates  was  building  himself  a  house)  being  asked  by  one 
(who  observed  the  littleness  of  the  design)  (why  a  man  so  eminent 
would  not  have  an  abode  more  suitable  to  his  dignity)  he  replied  (that 
he  should  think  himself  sufficiently  accommodated)  (if  he  could  see 
that  narrow  habitation  filled  with  real  friends). 

Section  IV. — 1.  Explain  the  term  "case."  Show  that  there  are 
generally  only  two  forms  of  case  in  English,  and  give  words  that  em- 
ploy more  than  two  forms. 

Explain  how  the  possessive  case  is  written  in  English,  with  any 
exceptions  to  the  general  rules.      (19-22.) 

2.  What  does  the  term  conjugation  include  ?  Name  some  of  the 
English  defective  verbs.  What  condition  is  expressed  by  a  subjunc- 
tive mood  ?  Give  examples  of  sentences,  showing  varieties  of  that 
condition.      (42-56.) 

3.  What  is  meant  by  saying  that  prepositions  express  relations  ? 
Give  examples  to  show  that  the  principal  relations  are  those  of  cause, 
place,  and  time.      (58-60.) 

Section  V. — In  the  following  passages  select  words  containing 
Latin  prefixes ;  convert  also  the  nouns  into  adjectives  by  means  of 
suffixes,  giving  the  force  of  each  prefix  and  sufl&x.     (107-110.) 

Pity  presupposes  sympathy. 

He  satisfies  his  ambition  with  the  fame  he  shall  acquire. 

Lawful  authority  is  seldom  resisted. 

Extravagance,  though  suggested  by  vanity  and  excited  by  luxury, 
seldom  procures  applause. 

The  passions  continue  their  tyranny  with  incessant  demands  for 
indulgence,  and  life  evaporates  into  vain  repentance  or  impotent 
appetite. 

Section  VI. — Write  full  notes  of  a  lesson  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects  : — 

(a)  Concords  of  verb  and  subject, 

(6)  Complements  or  extensions  of  the  predicate. 


264  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

(c)  The  advantages  of  learning  Latin  grammar,  or  some  other  gram- 
mar than  English. 

Section  VII. — Write  a  letter  descriptive  of — 

(a)  Some  outdoor  school  game. 
Or,  {b)  A  shipwreck. 
Or,  (c)  The  beauties  of  summer. 
Or,  {d)  Your  favourite  walk. 

Underline   any  words  you  have  used  that  are  of  Latin   origin. 
(159.) 

SET   F. 

{Directions  as  in  E.) 

Section  I. — Parse  fully  the  words  in  italics  in  the  following  paa- 
.  sages  (syntax  should  not  be  neglected  in  the  parsing) : — 

' '  The  better  days  of  life  were  ours  ; 

The  worst  can  be  hut  mine  : 
The  sun  that  cheers,  the  storm  that  lowers. 

Shall  never  rnort  he,  thine. 
The  silence  of  that  dreamless  sleep 
I  envy  now  too  much  to  weep  ; 

Nor  need  I  to  repine 
TJiat  all  those  charms  have  passed  away 
I  might  have  watched  through  long  decay." 

"  The  flower  in  ripened  bloom  unmatched 
Must  fall  the  earliest  prey; 
Though  by  no  hand  untimely  snatched, 
The  leaves  must  drop  away." 

Section  IT. — Analyse  the  principal  sentences  in  the  following  pas- 
sage ;  and  state  the  nature  of  the  subordinate  sentences,  pointing  out 
the  sentences  upon  which  they  depend  : — 

*'  This  mother  is  still  alive,  and  may  perhaps  even  yet,  though  her 
malice  was  often  defeated,  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  reflecting  that  the  life, 
which  she  often  endeavoured  to  destroy,  was  at  last  shortened  by  her 
maternal  offices,  and  that,  though  she  could  not  transport  her  son  to 
the  plantations,  she  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  forcing  him  into  exi- 
gencies that  hurried  on  his  death."     (95.) 

Section  III. — Select  and  classify  the  adverbs  and  conjunctions  in 
the  passage  given  above.      (57-60.) 

Section  IV.  ^ — 1.  Give  examples  of  reflective,  distributive,  and  in- 
terrogative pronouns.  State  the  differences  in  usage  of  the  relative 
pronouns  who,  which,  and  what.     (27. ) 

2.   Explain  the  term  preposition.     What  are  the  principal  relations 

1  Only  one  of  these  questions  Is  to  be  answered. 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS.  265 

indicated  by  prepositions  ?  Give  examples  of  compound  prepositions, 
formed  by  prefixing  simple  prepositions  to  nouns  and  adjectives.  (59.) 
3.  Explain  the  terms  adjective  and  adverbial  clauses.  Give  sen- 
tences showing  that  these  clauses  are  equivalent  to  simple  adjectives 
or  adverbs.      (89,  90.) 

Section  V. — Select  twelve  of  the  following  words,  show  how  they 
are  compounded,  and  derive  their  meaning  from  the  meaning  of  their 
component  parts :  but,  since,  except,  become,  amongst,  between,  al- 
though, astray,  perhaps,  whither,  good-bye,  toivards,  forsooth,  despite^ 
gosling,  boyhood,  kingdom,  complex. 

Sfctton  VI. — Write  full  notes  of  a  lesson  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects  :  — 

(a)  Interrogative  pronouns. 

(6)  Moods  of  verbs. 

(c)  Analysis  of  a  simple  sentence. 

Section  VII. — Write  a  letter  descriptive  of — 

(a)  The  plan  of  some  large  town. 
Or,  (6)  A  visit  to  a  factory. 
Or,  (c)  A  ramble  by  a  river-side. 
Or,  {d)  A  day's  skating.     (156.) 


SET   G. 
{Two  hours  and  a  half  allowed /or  this  paper.) 

No  abbreviation  of  less  than  three  letters  to  be  used  in  parsing  or  analysis. 
Candidates  must  not  answer  more  than  one  question  in  each  of  the  Sections  IV.,  V.,  VL 

Composition. 

Write  a  letter  descriptive  of — 

(1)  The  early  signs  of  Spring. 
Or,  (2)  Some  Museum  with  which  you  are  acquainted. 
Or,  (3)  Some  act  of  kindness  or  heroism  which  you  may  have  wit- 
nessed. 
Or,  (4)  Some  of  the  difficulties  of  a  young  teacher's  life.      (159.) 

Section  I. — Parse  fully  the  words  italicised  in  the  following  sen- 
tences (syntax  is  an  essential  part  of  parsing) : — 

"  Yet  live  there  still,  who  can  remember  well 
Hoio  when  a  mountain-chief  his  bugle  blew, 
Both  field  and  forest,  dingle,  cliff,  and  dell, 
And  solitary  heath  the  signal  knew ; 
And  fast  the  faithful  clan  around  him  drew, 
What  time  the  warning  note  was  keenly  woundy 
What  time  aloft  their  kindred  banner  flew. 
While  clamorous  war-pipes  yelled  the  gathering  sound, 
And  while  the  Fiery  Cross  glanced,  like  a  meteor,  round.** 


26 8  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

Section  II. — Analyse  the  following  sentences,  making  a  table,  show- 
ing in  separate  columns  : — 

(1)  The  nature  of  the  sentence. 

(2)  (If  dependent)  its  relation  to  the  principal  sentence. 

(3)  Subject. 

(4)  Its  enlargement  (if  any). 

(5)  Predicate. 

(6)  Its  extensions  (if  any). 

(7)  Object. 

(8)  Its  enlargement  (if  any). 

How  to  deal  with  him  was  a  puzzling  question. 

While  the  lion  and  tiger  were  tearing  each  other,  the  jackal  had 
run  off  into  the  jungle  with  the  prey. 

*'  Who  spills  the  foremost  foeman's  life, 
His  party  conquers  in  the  strife." 

**  If  I  suffer  causeless  wrong, 

Is  then  my  selfish  rage  so  strong. 
My  sense  of  public  weal  so  low, 
That  for  mere  vengeance  on  a  foe 
Those  cords  of  love  I  should  unbind 
Which  knit  my  country  and  my  kind  ?  " 

Section  III. — Select  and  classify  the  pronouns,  conjunctions,  and 
adverbs  in  the  sentences  given  above. 

Section  IV. — 1.  Write  out  rules  for  the  spelling  of  those  classes 
of  words  which  include  receiving,  judgment,  changeable,  so  far  as 
relates  to  the  part  of  the  word  printed  in  italic  type. 

2.  Explain  the  terms  reflexive,  indefinite,  and  show  in  what  sense 
they  are  applied  to  some  of  the  parts  of  speech.      (25.) 

3.  Explain  the  term  subjunctive  mood,  and  give  examples  of  its 
uses.     (80.) 

Section  V. — 1.  Show  that  the  following  words  may  represent  two  or 
more  parts  of  speech  :  next,  under,  till,  by,  that,  like. 

2.  Derive  the  following  words  :  compact,  arrange,  acquaint,  algebra, 
geography,  dissuade,  abroad,  precede,  suspend. 

3.  Give  a  noun,  an  adjective,  and  a  verb,  formed  from  each  of  the 
following  Latin  words  :   disco,  sedeo,  scribo,  verto,  duco,  dico.      (131.) 

Section  VI. — 1.  State  whether  the  concords  in  the  following  sen- 
tences are  incorrect,  and  give  the  proper  rule  of  concord  in  each 
case : —     (76.) 

Neither  she  nor  James  were  there. 

Either  Mary  or  Jane  must  fetch  me  their  rake. 

Scott's  '  Tales  of  a  Grandfather '  were  written  for  his  grandchildren. 

2.  Explain  the  terms  metaphor,  simile,  and  give  appopriate  ex- 
amples.    (174.) 

3.  Give  examples  of  defective  English  verbs,  and  show  how  the 
deficiencies  are  supplied.     (53.) 


EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS.  267 


SET  H. 

Section  V. — 1.  What  attempts  have  been  made  to  classify  the 
English  irregular  verbs  ?  Supply  a  brief  classified  list  of  these  verbs. 
(43.) 

2.  What  are  participles,  and  to  what  uses  are  they  applied  in  the 
formation  of  sentences  ?     (40. ) 

Section  VI. — 1.  How  do  you  distinguish  between  adverbs  and 
conjunctions,  adverbs  and  prepositions,  adverbs  and  adjectives?    (102.) 

2.  Give  instances  of  the  employment  of  adverbial  and  prepositional 
phrases,  and  classify  them  according  to  their  meaning.     (90.) 

Section  VII. — Account  historically  for  the  presence  of  so  many 
words  of  foreign  origin  in  the  English  language.     (204. ) 


SET  L 

Section  I. — Parse  the  words  in  italics  in  the  following  passages  : — 

' '  The  monarch  saw,  and  shook. 

And  bade  no  mo7'e  rejoice  ; 
All  bloodless  waxed  his  look, 

And  tremulous  his  voice: 
Let  the  men  of  lore  appear, 

The  ivisest  of  the  earth, 
And  expound  the  words  of  fear 

That  mar  our  royal  mirth." 

Envy  is  of  all  crimes  the  basest :  for  malice  and  anger  are  appeased 
with  benefits,  but  envy  is  exasperated,  as  envying  to  fortunate  persons 
both  their  power  and  their  wish  to  do  good. 

Write  the  first  passage  in  simple  prose.     (177.) 

Section  II. — Analyse  the  following  passages  : — 

"  Yet  time  may  diminish  the  pain  : 

The  flower  and  the  shrub  and  the  tree, 
Which  I  reared  for  her  pleasure  in  vain. 
In  time  may  have  comfort  for  me." 

After  men  have  travelled  through  a  few  stages  in  vice,  shame  for- 
sakes them  and  turns  back  to  wait  upon  the  few  virtues  they  have 
still  remaining. 

Section  III. — Give  the  author,  and  name  of  poem  from  which  taken, 
of  some  (not  more  than  six)  of  the  following  lines  : — 

A  primrose  by  a  river's  brim. 

Some  village  Hampden  that  with  dauntless  breast. 

We  watched  her  breathing  through  the  night. 

0  Solitude  !  where  are  the  charms. 

The  world  was  all  before  them  where  to  choose. 

He  prayeth  best,  who  loveth  best  all  things  both  great  and  small. 


268  EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS. 

Our  glorious  Semper  Eadem,  the  banner  of  our  pride. 

The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained. 

O  woman !  in  our  hours  of  ease. 

Higher  still  and  higher  from  the  earth  thou  springest. 

There  are  seven  pillars  of  Gothic  mould. 

Now's  the  day  and  now's  the  hour. 

Section  IV. — Classify  in  parallel  columns — 

1.  The  following  nouns  as  common,  proper,  collective,  abstract,  or 
in  any  other  way  :  Mob,  sheep,  man,  William,  maid-servant,  army, 
Russia,  aunt,  scissors,  parent,  authoress,  pride,  vixen,  dream,  flocks 
dragon.     (9.) 

Or,  2.  The  following  pronouns  as  personal,  relative,  interrogative, 
possessive,  or  in  any  other  way  :  Mine,  this,  each,  who,  that,  what, 
any,  she,  all,  toe,  himself,  whatever.     (24.) 

Or,  3.  The  following  verbs  as  transitive  or  intransitive,  regular  or 
irregular,  weak  or  strong,  or  in  any  other  way  :  Fetch,  can,  love, 
regard,  speak,  come,  hring,  go,  sing,  become,  hang,  do,  will,  carry. 
(35.) 

Section  V.  —  1.  Write  down  the  comparative  and  superlative 
degrees  of  old,  bad,  much,  late,  fat,  wilfid,  amiable,  clumsy,  decent. 
Name  some  comparatives  and  superlatives  that  have  no  positive. 
(32.) 

Or,  2.  The  past  tenses  and  passive  participles  of  the  verbs  begin^ 
sting,  bear,  speak,  tread,  drive,  swear,  smite.  Name  also  some  defec- 
tive verbs.     (53.) 

Or,  3.  The  meaning  of  the  Latin  prepositions  ante,  prce,  and  sub, 
used  in  composition  as  prefixes,  with  examples  of  each  meaning. 
(107.) 

Section  VI. — Write  full  notes  of  a  lesson  on  one  of  the  following 
subjects :  (a)  Abstract  nouns ;  (b)  Prepositions  of  place ;  (c)  Analysis 
of  sentences  containing  adjective  clauses. 

Section  VII. — Write  a  letter  descriptive  of — (a)  Some  manufactur- 
ing process ;  (6)  The  locality  of  your  town  or  village  ;  (c)  The  story  of 
Grace  Darling  ;  {d)  The  Prince  of  Wales's  visit  to  India.     (159.) 

Underline  in  the  letter  any  words  you  know  to  be  of  Latin  origiiu 


PART    III. 
THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE 


INTEODUCTIOK 

1.  Tongue,  Speech,  Language. — We  speak  of  the  "English 
tongue "  or  of  the  "  French  language " ;  and  we  say  of  two 
nations  that  they  "do  not  understand  each  other's  speech." 
The  existence  of  these  three  words — speech,  tongue,  language 
— proves  to  us  that  a  language  is  something  spoken, — that  it  is 
a  number  of  sounds ;  and  that  the  writing  or  printing  of  it 
upon  paper  is  a  quite  secondary  matter.  Language,  rightly 
considered,  then,  is  an  organised  set  of  sounds.  These 
sounds  convey  a  meaning  from  the  mind  of  the  speaker  to 
the  mind  of  the  hearer,  and  thus  serve  to  connect  man  with 
man. 

2.  Written  Language. — It  took  many  hundreds  of  years — 
perhaps  thousands — before  human  beings  were  able  to  invent  a 
mode  of  writing  upon  paper — that  is,  of  representing  sounds 
by  signs.  These  signs  are  called  letters  ;  and  the  whole  set  of 
them  goes  by  the  name  of  the  Alphabet — from  the  two  first 
letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  which  are  called  alj)ha,  heta. 
There  are  languages  that  have  never  been  put  upon  paper  at 
all,  such  as  many  of  the  African  languages,  many  in  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  and  other  parts  of  the  globe.  But  in  all  cases, 
every  language  that  we  know  anything  about — English,  Latin, 
Erench,  German — existed  for  hundreds  of  years  before  any  one 
thought  of  writing  it  down  on  paper.  >> 

3.  A   Language    Grows. — A  language  is  an   organism    or    / 
organic    existence.       Now   every  organism   lives;    and,    if   it  / 
lives,  it  grows  ;  and,  if  it  grows,  it  also   dies.      Our  language  / 
grows ;  it  is  growing  still ;  and  it  has  been  growing  for  many 

271  N  -y 


272  HISTOKY   OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

hundreds  of  years.  As  it  grows  it  loses  something,  and  it  gains 
something  else  ;  it  alters  its  appearance ;  changes  take  place  in 
this  part  of  it  and  in  that  part, — until  at  length  its  appearance 
in  age  is  something  almost  entirely  different  from  what  it  was 
in  its  early  youth.  If  we  had  the  photograph  of  a  man  of 
forty,  and  the  photograph  of  the  same  person  when  he  was  a 
child  of  four,  we  should  find,  on  comparing  them,  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  point  to  the  smallest  trace  of  likeness  in 
the  features  of  the  two  photographs.  And  yet  the  two  pictures 
represent  the  same  person.  And  so  it  is  with  the  English 
language.  The  oldest  English,  which  is  usually  called  Anglo- 
Saxon,  is  as  different  in  appearance  from  our  modern  English 
as  if  they  were  two  distinct  languages ;  and  yet  they  are  not 
two  languages,  but  really  and  fundamentally  one  and  the 
same. 

4.  The  English  Language. — The  English  language  is  the 
speech  spoken  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  England,  in  most 
parts  of  Scotland,  in  the  larger  part  of  Ireland,  in  the  United 
States,  in  Canada,  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  in  South 
Africa,  and  in  many  other  parts  of  the  world..  In  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century  it  was  spoken  by  a  few  thousand  men  who 
had  lately  landed  in  England  from  the  Continent :  it  is  now 
spoken  by  more  than  one  hundred  millions  of  people.  In  the, 
course  of  the  next  sixty  years,  it  will  probably  be  "the  speech 
of  two  hundred  millions. 

5.  English  on  the  Continent. — In  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century  it  was  spoken  in  the  north-west  corner  of  Europe — 
between  the  mouths  of  the  Ehine,  the  Weser,  and  the  Elbe ; 
and  in  Schleswig  there  is  a  small  district  which  is  called  Angeln 
to  this  day.  It  was  a  rough  guttural  speech  that  was  brought 
over  to  the  island  of  Britain  by  the  Jutes,  Angles,  and  Saxons 
in  the  year  449.  These  men  left  their  home  on  the  Continent 
to  find  here  farms  to  till  and  houses  to  live  in ;  and  they 
drove  the  inhabitants  of  the  island — the  Britons — ever  farther 
and  farther  west,  until  they  at  length  left  them  in  peace  in  the 
more  mountainous  parts  of  the  islands — in  the  southern  and 
western  corners,  in  Cornwall  and  in  Wales. 


INTRODUCTION.  '    273 

6.  The  British  Language. — What  language  did  the  Teutonic 
conquerors,  who  wrested  the  lands  from  the  poor  Britons,  find 
spoken  in  this  island  when  they  first  set  foot  on  if?  Not  a 
Teutonic  speech  at  all.  They  found  a  language  not  one  word  of 
which  they  could  understand.  The  island  itself  was  then  called 
Britain;  and  the  tongue  spoken  in  it  belonged  to  the  Keltic 
group  of  languages.  Languages  belonging  to  the  Keltic  group 
are  still  spoken  in  Wales,  in  Brittany,  (in  France),  in  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland,  in  the  west  of  Ireland,  and  in  the  Isle  of 
Man.  A  few  words — very  few — from  the  speech  of  the  Britons, 
have  come  into  our  own  English  language ;  and  what  these  are 
we  shall  see  by-and-by. 

7.  The  Family  to  which  English  belongs. — Our  English 
tongue  belongs  to  the  Aryan  or  Indo-European  Family  of 
languages.  From  this  Aryan  mother  tongue  have  sprung 
languages  which  are  now  spoken  in  India,  in  Persia,  in  Greece 
and  Italy,  in  France  and  Germany,  in  Scandinavia,  and  in 
Eussia ;  and  out  of  this  Aryan  speech  our  own  language  has 
grown. 

8.  The  Group  to  which  English  belongs.  —  The  Indo- 
European  family  of  languages  consists  of  several  groups.  One 
of  these  is  called  the  Teutonic  Group,  spoken  by  the  Teutonic 
3?aae^4o«»4  in  Germany,  in  England  and  Scotland,  in  Holland, 
in  "parts  of  Belgium,  in  Denmark,  in  Norway  and  Sweden,  in 
Iceland,  and  the  Faroe  Islands.  The'Teutonic  group "  consists 
of  three  branches — High  German,  Low  German,  and  Scandi- 
navian. High  German  is  the  name  given  to  the  kind  of 
German  spoken  in  Upper  Germany — 4hat^  is,  in  the  table-land 
which  lies  south  of  the  river  Main,  and  which  rises  gradually 
4ill4^fe-3?un^- into  the  Alps.  New  High  German  is  the  German 
of  books — the  literary  language — tha_jGerman  that  is  taught 
an4  learnedr  -in  -  schools.  Low  German  is  the  name  given 
to  the  German  dialects  spoken  in  the  lowlands  —  in  the 
German  part  of  the  Great  Plain  of  Europe,  and  round  the 
mouths  of-those  German  rivers  that  flow  into  the  Baltic  and 

Jtlie--NtHth:~Sea.      Scandinavian   is    the   name   given   to   the 
languages  spoken  in  Denmark  and  in  the  great  Scandinavian 


274  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

Peninsula.  Of  these  languages,  Danish  and  iN'orwegian  are 
practically  the  same — their  literary  or  book-language  is  one ; 
while  Swedish  is  very  different.  Icelandic  is  the  oldest  and 
purest  form  of  Scandinavian.      The  following  is  a  table  of  the 

i 

GROUP  OF  TEUTONIC  LANGUAGES. 

TEUTONIC. 


Low  German.  High  German.-  Scandinavian. 

I  I  '  i 


Dutch.    Flemish.    Frisian.    English.         Old.    Middle.    New.        Icelandic    Danish.    Nor-    Swedish, 

wegian. 

It  will  be  observed,  on  looking  at  the  above  table,  that  High 
German  is  subdivided  according  to  time,  but  that  the  other 
groups  are  subdivided  geographically. 

9.  Englisli  a  Low -German  Speech.  —  Our  English  tongue 
belongs  to  the  Low-German  branch.  Low  German  is  the 
German  spoken  in  the  lowlands  of  Germany.  From  there 
our  English  ancestors  crossed  the  German  Ocean,  and  settled 
in  Britain,  to  which  they  gave  in  time  the  name  of  Engla- 
land  or  England.  The  Low  German  spoken  in  the  jSTetherlands 
is  called  Dutch;  the  Low  German  spoken  in  Friesland — a 
prosperous  province  of  Holland — is  called  Frisian;  and  the 
Low  German  spoken  in  Great  Britain  is  called  English.  These 
three  languages  are  extremely  like  one  another;  but  the  Con- 
tinental language  that  is  likest  the  English  is  the  Dutch  or 
Hollandish  dialect  called  Frisian.  "We  even  possess  a  couplet, 
every    word    of    which    is    both    English    and    Frisian.       It 

runs  thus — 

Good  butter  and  good  cheese 
Is  good  English  and  good  Fries. 

10.  Dutch  and  Welsh — a  Contrast. — When  the  Teuton  con- 
querors came  to  this  country,  they  called  the  Britons  foreigners, 
just  as  the  Greeks  called  all  other  peoples  besides  themselves 
barbarians.  By  this  they  did  not  at  first  mean  that  they  were 
uncivilised,  but  only  that  they  were  7iot  Greeks.  Now,  the 
Teutonic  or  Saxon  or  English  name  for  foreigners  was  Wealhas, 


INTRODUCTION.  275 

a  word  afterwards  contracted  into  Welsh.  To  this  day  the 
modern  Teuts  or  Teutons  (or  Germans,  as  we  call  them)  call 
all  Frenchmen  and  Italians  Welshmen;  and,  when  a  German' 
peasant  crosses  the  border  into  France,  he  says  :  *'  I  am  going 
into  Welshland." 

11.  The  Spread  of  English  over  Britain. — Of  the  Teutonic 
settlers  in  Britain,  the  Jutes  occupied  Kent  and  the  Isle  of 
Wight.  The  Saxons  settled  in  the  south  and  western  parts 
of  England,  and  gave  their  names  to  those  kingdoms — now 
counties — whose  names  came  to  end  in  sex.  There  was  the 
kingdom  of  the  East  Saxons,  or  Essex;  the  kingdom  of  the 
West  Saxons,  or  Wessex ;  the  kingdom  of  the  Middle  Saxons, 
or  Middlesex;  and  the  kingdom  of  the  South  Saxons,  or 
Sussex.  The  Angles  settled  chiefly  on  the  east  coast.  The 
kingdom  of  East  Anglla  was  divided  into  the  regions  of 
the  North  Folk  and  the  South  Folk,  words  which  are  still 
perpetuated  in  the  names  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  These  three 
sets  of  Teutons  all  spoke  different  dialects  of  the  same  Teu- 
tonic speech;  and  these  dialects,  with  their  differences, 
peculiarities,  and  odd  habits,  took  root  in  English  soil,  and 
lived  an  independent  life,  apart  from  each  other,  uninfluenced 
by  each  other,  for  several  hundreds  of  years.  But,  in  the  slow 
course  of  time,  they  joined  together  to  make  up  our  beautiful 
English  language — a  language  which,  however,  still  bears  in 
itself  the  traces  of  dialectic  forms,  and  is  in  no  respect  of  one 
kind  or  of  one  fibre  all  through. 


CHAPTEB    I. 


THE   PERIODS   OP   ENGLISH. 


1.  Dead  and  Living  Langnages. — A  language  is  said  to  be 
dead  when  it  is  no  longer  spoken.  Such,  a  language  we  know 
only  in  books.  Thus,  Latin  is  a  dead  language,  because  no 
nation  anywhere  now  speaks  it.  A  dead  language  can  undergo 
no  change  ;  it  remains,  and  must  remain,  as  we  find  it  written 
in  books.  But  a  living  language  is  always  changing,  just  like 
a  tree  or  the  human  body.  The  human  body  has  its  periods  or 
stages.  There  is  the  period  of  infancy,  the  period  of  boyhood, 
the  period  of  manhood,  and  the  period  of  old  age.  In  the  same 
way,  a  language  has  its  periods. 

2.  No  Sudden  Changes — a  Caution. — ^We  divide  the  Eng- 
lish language  into  periods,  and  then  mark,  with  some  approach 
to  accuracy,  certain  distinct  changes  in  the  habits  of  our  lan- 
guage, in  the  inflexions  of  its  words,  in  the  kind  of  words  it 
preferred,  or  in  the  way  it  liked  to  put  its  words  together.  But 
we  must  be  carefully  on  our  guard  against  fancying  that,  at  any 
given  time  or  in  any  given  year,  the  English  people  threw  aside 
one  set  of  habits  as  regards  language,  and  adopted  another  set. 
It  is  not  so,  nor  can  it  be  so.  The  changes  in  language  are  as 
gentle,  gradual,  and  imperceptible  as  the  changes  in  the  growth 
of  a  tree  or  in  the  skin  of  the  human  body.  We  renew  our 
skin  slowly  and  gradually ;  but  we  are  never  conscious  of  the 
process,  nor  can  we  say  at  any  given  time  that  we  have  got  a 
completely  new  skin. 


THE   PERIODS   OF  ENGLISH.  277 

3.  The  Periods  of  English. — Bearing  this  ca^ition  in  mind, 
we  can  go  on  to  look  at  the  chief  periods  in  our  English  lan- 
guage.    These  are  five  in  number ;  and  they  are  as  follows  : — 

I.  Old  English  or  Anglo-Saxon,  .  449-1100    / 

IL  Early  English,     ....  1100-1250 

III.  Middle  English,  ....  1250-1485 

V       IV.  Tudor  English,   ....  1485-1603 

V.  Modern  English,  .  .  .  1603-1900 

These  periods  merge  very  slowly,  or  are  shaded  off,  so  to  speak, 
into  each  other  in  the  most  gradual  way.  If  we  take  the  Eng- 
lish of  1250  and  compare  it  with  that  of  900,  we  shall  find  a 
great  difference  ;  but  if  we  compare  it  with  the  English  of  1100 
the  difference  is  not  so  marked.  The  difference  between  the 
English  of  the  nineteenth  and  the  English  of  the  fourteenth 
century  is  very  great,  but  the  difference  between  the  English  of 
the  fourteenth  and  that  of  the  thirteenth  century  is  very  small. 

4.  Old  English  or  Anglo-Saxon,  450-1100.— This  form  of 
English  differed  from  modern  English  in  having  a  much  larger 
number  of  inflexions.  The  noun  had  five  cases,  and  there  were 
several  declensions,  just  as  in  Latin ;  adjectives  were  declined, 
and  had  tliree  genders ;  some  pronouns  had  a  dual  as  well  as  a 
plural  number ;  and  the  verb  had  a  much  larger  number  of  inflex- 
ions than  it  has  now.  The  vocabulary  of  the  language  con- 
tained very  few  foreign  elements.  The  poetry  of  the  language 
employed  head-rhyme  or  alliteration,  and  not  end-rhyme,  as  we 
do  now.  The  works  of  the  poet  Caedmon  and  the  great  prose- 
writer  King  Alfred  belong  to  this  Anglo-Saxon  period. 

5.  Early  English,  1100-1250. — The  coming  of  the  IS'ormans  in 
1066  made  many  changes  in  the  land,  many  changes  in  the 
Church  and  in  the  State,  and  it  also  introduced  many  changes 
into  the  language.  The  inflexions  of  our  speech  began  to  drop 
off,  because  they  were  used  less  and  less ;  and  though  we  never 
adopted  new  inflexions  from  French  or  from  any  other  language, 
new  French  words  began  to  creep  in.  In  some  parts  of  the 
country  English  had  ceased  to  be  written  in  books ;  the  lan- 
guage existed  as  a  spoken  language  only ;  and  hence  accuracy 
in  the  use  of  words  and  the  inflexions  of  words  could  not  be 


278  HISTOKY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

ensured.  Two  notable  books — written,  not  printed,  for  there 
■was  no  printing  in  this  island  till  the  year  1474 — belong  to  this 
period.  These  are  the  Ormulum,  by  Orm  or  Ormin,  and  the 
Brut,  by  a  monk  called  Layamon.  The  latter  tells  the  story 
of  Brutus,  who  was  believed  to  have  been  a  descendant  of 
^neas  of  Troy;  to  have  escaped  after  the  downfall  of  that 
city ;  to  have  sailed  through  the  Mediterranean,  ever  farther 
and  farther  to  the  west;  to  have  landed  in  Britain,  settled 
here,  and  given  the  country  its  name, 

6.  Middle  English,  1250-1485. — Most  of  the  inflexions  of 
nouns  and  adjectives  have  in  this  period — between  the  middk 
of  the  thirteenth  and  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century — com- 
pletely disappeared.  The  inflexions  of  verbs  are  also  greatly 
reduced  in  number.  The  strong  ^  mode  of  inflexion  has  ceased 
to  be  employed  for  verbs  that  are  new-comers,  and  the  weak 
mode  has  been  adopted  in  its  place.  During  the  earlier  part  of 
this  period,  even  country-people  tried  to  speak  French,  and 
in  this  and  other  modes  many  French  words  found  their 
way  into  English.  A  writer  of  the  fourteenth  century,  John 
de  Trevisa,  says  that  country-people  "fondeth  [that  is,  try] 
with  great  bysynes  for  to  speke  Freynsch  for  to  be  more  y-told 
of."  The  country-people  did  not  succeed  very  well,  as  the 
ordinary  proverb  shows:  "Jack  would  be  a  gentleman  if  he 
could  speak  French."  Boys  at  school  were  expected  to  turn 
their  Latin  into  French,  and  in  the  courts  of  law  French 
only  was  allowed  to  be  spoken.  But  in  1362  Edward  III. 
gave  his  assent  to  an  Act  of  Parliament  allowing  English  to 
be  used  instead  of  Norman-French.  "  The  yer  of  oure  Lord," 
says  John  de  Trevisa,  "a  thousond  thre  hondred  foure  score 
and  fyve  of  the  secuncle  Kyng  Richard  after  the  conquest,  in  al 
the  gramer  scoles  of  Engelond  children  leveth  Freynsch,  and 
construe th  and  lerneth  an  Englysch."  To  the  first  half  of  this 
period  belong  a  Metrical  Chronicle,  attributed  to  Robert  of 
Gloucester;  Langtoft's  Metrical  Chronicle,  translated  by 
Robert  de  Brunne ;  the  Agenbite  of  Inwit,  by  Dan  Michel 
of  l!^orthgate  in  Kent ;  and  a  few  others.     But  to  the  second 

1  See  p.  43. 


THE   PERIODS  OF   ENGLISH.  279 

half  belong  the  rich  and  varied  productions  of  Geoffrey  Chaucer, 
our  first  great  poet  and  always  one  of  our  greatest  writers ;  the 
alliterative  poems  of  "William  Langley  or  Langlande;  the 
more  learned  poems  of  John  Gower;  and  the  translation  of 
the  Bible  and  theological  works  of  the  reformer  John  Wyelif. 

7.  Tudor  English,  1485-1603. — Before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
centiu?y  almost  all  our  inflexions  had  disappeared.  The  great 
dramatist  Ben  Jonson  (1574-1637)  laments  the  loss  of  the  plural 
ending  en  for  verbs,  because  iventen  and  hopen  were  much  more 
musical  and  more  useful  in  verse  than  went  or  hope ;  but  its 
recovery  was  already  past  praying  for.  This  period  is  remark- 
able for  the  introduction  of  an  enormous  number  of  Latin 
words,  and  this  was  due  to  the  new  interest  taken  in  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Romans — an  interest  produced  by  what  is  called  the 
Revival  of  Letters.  But  the  most  striking,  as  it  is  also  the 
most  important  fact  relating  to  this  period,  is  the  appearance  of 
a  group  of  dramatic  writers,  the  greatest  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  Chief  among  these  was  William  Shakespeare.  Of 
pure  poetry  perhaps  the  greatest  writer  was  Edmund  Spenser. 
The  greatest  prose-writer  was  Richard  Hooker,  and  the  pithiest 
Francis  Bacon. 

8.  Modern  English,  1603-1900. — The  grammar  of  the  language 
was  fixed  before  this  period,  most  of  the  accidence  having  en- 
tirely vanished.  The  vocabulary  of  the  language,  however,  has 
gone  on  increasing,  and  is  still  increasing ;  for  the  English 
language,  like  the  English  people,  is  always  ready  to  offer 
hospitality  to  all  peaceful  foreigners — words  or  human  beings — 
that  will  land  and  settle  within  her  coasts.  And  the  tendency 
at  the  present  time  is  not  only  to  give  a  hearty  welcome  to  new- 
comers from  other  lands,  but  to  call  back  old  words  and  old 
phrases  that  had  been  allowed  to  drop  out  of  existence.  ,  Tenny- 
son was  one  of  the  chief  agents  in  this  happy  restoration. 


CHAPTEE  11. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  VOCABULARY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

1.  The  English  Nation. — The  English  people  have  for  many 
centuries  been  the  greatest  travellers  in  the  world.  An  English- 
man— Drake — was  among  the  first  to  sail  round  the  globe ; 
and  the  English  have  colonised  more  foreign  lands  in  every  part 
of  the  world  than  any  other  people  that  ever  existed.  The 
English  in  this  way  have  been  influenced  by  the  world  with- 
out. But  they  have  also  been  subjected  to  manifold  influences 
from  within  —  they  have  been  exposed  to  greater  poHtical 
changes,  and  profounder  though  quieter  political  revolutions, 
than  any  other  nation.  In  1066  they  were  conquered  by  the 
Norman  -  French ;  and  for  several  centuries  they  had  Erench 
kings.  Seeing  and  talking  with  many  difl'erent  peoples,  they 
learned  to  adopt  foreign  words  with  ease,  and  to  give  them  a 
home  among  the  native-born  words  of  the  language.  Trade  is 
always  a  kindly  and  useful  influence ;  and  the  trade  of  Great 
Britain  has  for  many  centuries  been  larger  than  that  of  any 
other  nation.  It  has  spread  into  every  part  of  the  world;  it 
gives  and  receives  from  all  tribes  and  nations,  from  every 
speech  and  tongue. 

2.  The  English  Element  in  English.  —  When  the  English 
came  to  the  island  in  the  fifth  century,  their  language  was 
purely  Teutonic.  But  so  eager  and  willing  have  we  been  to 
welcome  foreign  words,  that  it  may  be  said  with  truth  that : 
The   majority   of  words   in  the   English   Tongue   are   not 


VOCABULARY   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE.  281 

English.  In  fact,  if  we  take  the  Latin  language  by  itself, 
there  are  in  our  language  more  Latin  words  than  English. 
But  the  grammar  is  distinctly  English,  and  not  Latin  at  all. 

3.  The  Spoken  Language  and  the  Written  Language — 
a  Caution. — AVe  must  not  forget  what  has  been  said  about  a 
language, — that  it  is  not  a  printed  thing — not  a  set  of  black 
marks  upon  paper,  but  that  it  is  in  truest  truth  a  tongue  or  a 
speech.  Hence  we  must  be  careful  to  distinguish  between  the 
spoken  language  and  the  written  or  printed  language  ;  be- 
tween the  language  of  the  ear  and  the  language  of  the  eye ; 
between  the  language  of  the  mouth  and  the  language  of  the 
dictionary ;  between  the  moving  vocabulary  of  the  market  and 
the  street,  and  the  fixed  vocabulary  that  has  been  catalogued 
and  imprisoned  in  our  dictionaries.  If  we  can  only  keep  this  in 
view,  we  shall  find  that,  though  there  are  more  Latin  words  in 
our  vocabulary  than  English,  the  English  words  we  possess  are 
used  in  speaking  a  hundred  times,  or  even  a  thousand  times, 
oftener  than  the  Latin  words.  It  is  the  genuine  English  words 
that  have  life  and  movement ;  it  is  they  that  fly  about  in  houses, 
in  streets,  and  in  markets ;  it  is  they  that  express  with  greatest 
force  our  truest  and  most  usual  sentiments — our  inmost  thoughts 
and  our  deepest  feelings.  Latin  words  are  found  often  enough 
in  books  ;  but,  when  an  English  man  or  woman  is  deeply  moved, 
he  speaks  pure  English  and  nothing  else.  Words  are  the 
coin  of  human  intercourse ;  and  it  is  the  native  coin  of  pure 
English  with  the  native  stamp  that  is  in  daily  circulation. 

4.  A  Diagram  of  English. — If  we  were  to  try  to  represent  to 
the  eye  the  proportions  of  the  different  elements  in  our  vocab- 
ulary, as  it  is  found  in  the  dictionary,  the  diagram  would  take 
something  like  the  following  form  :— 


>82  HISTOllY  OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

DLiGRAM   OF  THE   ENGLISH    LANGUAGE. 


English  Words 
(including  Scandinavian,  Friesic,  Dutch,  etc. 


Latin  Words 
(including  Norman-French,  which  are  also  Latin). 


Gkeek  Words. 


Italian,  Spanish,  Portuguese,  Dutch,  Hebrew,  Arabic,  Hindustani, 
Persian,  Malay,  American,  etc.  etc. 


5.  The   Foreign  Elements  in   our   English   Vocabulary. — 

The  different  peoples  and  the  different  circumstances  with 
which  we  have  come  in  contact,  have  had  many  results — one 
among  others,  that  of  presenting  us  with  contributions  to  our 
vocabulary.  We  found  Kelts  here ;  and  hence  we  have  a  num- 
ber of  Keltic  words  in  our  vocabulary.  The  Komans  held  this 
island  for  several  hundred  years ;  and  when  they  had  to  go  in 
the  year  410,  they  left  behind  them  a  few  Latin  words,  which  we 
have  inherited.  About  the  close  of  the  sixth  century,  Augustine 
and  his  missionary  monks  from  Eome  brought  over  to  us  a 
larger  number  of  Latin  words ;  and  the  Church  which  they 
founded  introduced  ever  more  and  more  words  from  Eome. 
The  Banes  began  to  come  over  to  this  island  in  the  eighth 
century ;  we  had  for  some  time  a  Danish  dynasty  seated  on  the 
throne  of  England  :  and  hence  we  possess  many  Danish  words. 
The  ISTorman-Erench  invasion  in  the  eleventh  century  brought 
us  a  large  addition  of  Latin  words ;  for  French  is  in  reality  a 
branch  of  the  Latin  tongue.  The  Eevival  of  Learning  in  the 
sixteenth  century  gave  us  several  thousands  of  Latin  words. 
And  wherever  our  sailors  and  merchants  have  gone,  they  have 
brought  back  with  them  foreign  words  as  well  as  foreign  things 
— Arabic  words  from  Arabia  and  Africa,  Hindustani  words  from 
India,  Persian  words  from  Persia,  Chinese  words  from  China, 
and  even  Malay  words  from  the  peninsula  of  Malacca.  Let  us 
look  a  little  more  closely  at  these  foreign  elements. 

6.  The  Keltic    Element   in   English.— This   element   is  of 


YOCABULARY   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE.  283 

three  kinds  :  (i)  Those  words  which  we  received  direct  from 
the  ancient  Britons  whom  we  found  in  the  island  ;  (ii)  those 
which  the  Norman-French  brought  with  them  from  Gaul ;  (iii) 
those  which  have  lately  come  into  the  language  from  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland,  or  from  Ireland,  or  from  the  writings  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott. 

7.  The  First  Keltic  Element. — This  first  contribution  con- 
tains the  following  words  :  Bannock,  clout,  crock,  taper, 
darn,  drudge,  mug,  posset;  dun  (brown),  glen,  hassock,  knoh, 
mattock,  yool.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  first  eight  in 
the  list  are  the  names  of  domestic — some  even  of  kitchen — 
things  and  utensils.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  permitted  us  to 
conjecture  that  in  many  cases  the  Saxon  invader  married 
a  British  wife,  who  spoke  her  o^\^l  language,  taught  her 
children  to  speak  their  mother  tongue,  and  whose  words 
took  firm  root  in  the  kitchen  of  the  new  English  house- 
hold. The  names  of  most  rivers,  mountains,  lakes,  and  hills 
are,  of  course,  Keltic  ;  for  these  names  would  not  be  likely  to 
be  changed  by  the  English  new-comers.  There  are  two  names  for 
rivers  which  are  found — in  one  form  or  another — in  every  part 
of  Great  Britain.  These  are  the  names  Avon  and  Ex.  The 
word  Avon  means  simply  tocder.  AYe  can  conceive  the  children 
on  a  farm  near  a  river  speaking  of  it  simply  as  "  the  water " ; 
and  hence  we  find  fourteen  Avons  in  this  island.  Ex  also- 
means  loater;  and  there  are  perhaps  more  than  twenty  streams 
in  Great  Britain  with  this  name.  The  word  appears  as  Ex  in 
Exeter  (the  older  and  fuUer  form  being  Exanceaster — the  camp 
on  the  Exe)  ;  as  Ax  in  Axminster ;  as  Ash  in  Ashbourne  ;  as 
Ux  in  Uxbridge ;  and  as  Ouse  in  Yorkshire  and  other  eastern 
counties.  In  "Wales  ar^d  Scotland,  the  hidden  k  changes  its 
place  and  comes  at  the  end.  Thus  in  Wales  we  find  Usk ;  and 
in  Scotland,  Esk.  There  are  at  least  eight  Esks  in  the  kingdom 
of  Scotland  alone.  The  commonest  Keltic  name  for  a  mountain 
is  Pen  or  Ben  (in  Wales  it  is  Pen ;  in  Scotland  the  flatter 
form  Ben  is  used).  We  find  this  word  in  England  also  under 
the  form  of  Pennine  ;  and,  in  Italy,  as  Apennine. 

8.  The  Second  Keltic  Element. — The  !N"ormans  came  from 


284  HISTORY  OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

Scandinavia  early  in  the  tenth  century,  and  wrested  the  valleji 
of  the  Seine  out  of  the  hands  of  Charles  the  Simple,  the  then 
king  of  the  French.  The  language  spoken  by  the  people  of 
France  was  a  broken-down  form  of  spoken  Latin,  which  is  now 
called  French;  but  in  this  language  they  had  retained  many 
Gaulish  words  out  of  the  old  Gaulish  lancruage.  Such  are  the 
words :  Bar,  bargain,  barter ;  barrel,  basin,  basket,  budget ; 
bonnet,  garter,  ribbon  ;  car,  caul ;  mutton,  gown  ;  mitten,  motley; 
rogue ;  varlet,  vassal ;  truant.  The  above  words  were  brought 
over  to  Britain  by  the  Normans ;  and  they  gradually  took  an 
acknowledged  place  among  the  words  of  our  own  language,  and 
have  held  that  place  ever  since, 

9.  The  Third  Keltic  Element. — This  consists  of  compara- 
tively few  words — such  as  clan ;  claymore  (a  sword) ;  philabeg 
(a  kind  of  kilt),  ptarmigan^  brogue  (a  kind  of  shoe),  plaid  ; 
jJibroch  (bagpipe  war-music),  slogan  (a  war-cry) ;  and  ichisky, 
Ireland  has  given  us  sliamrock,  gag,  log,  clog,  and  brogue — in 
the  sense  of  a  mode  of  speech. 

10.  The  Scandinavian  Element  in  English. — Towards  the 
end  of  the  eighth  century — in  the  year  787 — the  Teutons  of 
the  I^orth,  called  Northmen,  Normans,  or  Norsemen — but  more 
commonly  known  as  Danes — made  their  appearance  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  Great  Britain,  and  attacked  the  peaceful  towns 
and  quiet  settlements  of  the  English.  These  attacks  became  so 
frequent,  and  their  occurrence  was  so  much  dreaded,  that  a 
prayer  was  inserted  against  them  in  a  Litany  of  the  time — 
"  From  the  incursions  of  the  Northmen,  good  Lord,  deliver  us  !  " 
In  spite  of  the  resistance  of  the  English,  the  Danes  had,  before 
the  end  of  the  ninth  century,  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  perma- 
nent footing  in  England ;  and,  in  the  eleventh  century,  a  Danish 
dynasty  sat  upon  the  English  throne  from  the  year  1016  to  1042. 
From  the  time  of  King  Alfred,  the  Danes  of  the  Danelagh 
were  a  settled  part  of  the  population  of  England  ;  and  hence 
we  find,  especially  on  the  east  coast,  a  large  number  of  Danish 
names  still  in  use. 

11.  Character  of  the  Scandinavian  Element. — The  North- 
men,  as  we  have  said,  were  Teutons ;  and  the.y  spoke  a  dialect 


TOCABULARY  OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  285 

of  the  great  Teutonic  (or  German)  language.  The  sounds  of 
the  Danish  dialect — or  language,  as  it  must  now  be  called — are 
harder  than  those  of  the  German.  We  find  a  k  instead  of  a 
eh ;  a  p  preferred  to  an  f.  The  same  is  the  case  in  Scotland, 
where  the  hard  form  kirk  is  preferred  to  the  softer  church. 
Where  the  Germans  say  Dorf — our  English  word  Thorpe,  a 
village — the  Danes  say  Drup. 

12.  Scandinavian  Words  (i). — The  words  contributed  to  our 
language  by  the  Scandinavians  are  of  two  kinds  :  (i)  IsTames  of 
places  ;  and  (ii)  ordinary  words,  (i)  The  most  striking  instance 
of  a  Danish  place-name  is  the  noun  by,  a  town.  Mr  Isaac 
Taylor  •••  tells  us  that  there  are  in  the  east  of  England  more 
than  six  hundred  names  of  towns  ending  in  by.  Almost  all  of 
these  are  found  in  the  Danelagh,  within  the  limits  of  the  great 
highway  made  by  the  Eomans  to  the  north-Avest,  and  well-known 
as  Watling  Street.  We  find,  for  example,  Whitby,  or  the 
town  on  the  loliite  cliffs ;  Grimsby,  or  the  town  of  Grim,  a 
great  sea-rover,  who  obtained  for  his  countrymen  the  right  that 
all  ships  from  the  Baltic  should  come  into  the  port  of  Grimsby 
free  of  duty;  Tenby,  that  is  Daneby;  by-law,  a  law  for  a 
special  town ;  and  a  vast  number  of  others.  The  following 
Danish  words  also  exist  in  our  times — either  as  separate  and 
individual  words,  or  in  composition — beck,  a  stream;  fell,  a 
hill  or  table-land ;  firth  or  fiord,  an  arm  of  the  sea — the  same 
as  the  Danish  fiord ;  force,  a  waterfall ;  garth,  a  yard  or  en- 
closure ;  holra,  an  island  in  a  river ;  byre,  a  cow-stall ;  oe,  an 
island  ;  toft,  an  enclosure  ;  thwaite,  a  forest  clearing  ;  and  ness 
or  naze,  which  means  a  nose  or  promontory  of  land. 

13.  Scandinavian  Words  (ii). — The  most  useful  and  the 
most  frequently  employed  word  that  we  have  received  from  the 
Danes  is  the  word  are.  The  pure  English  word  for  this  is 
beoth  or  sindon.  The  Danes  gave  us  also  the  habit  of  using 
they,  them,  and  their,  forms  which  were  first  used  in  the 
North  of  England,  and  gradually  superseded  the  A.S.  hi,  liira^ 
and  hem.  We  find  also  the  following  Danish  words  in  our 
language  :    blunt,  bole   (of  a  tree),   bound   (on    a   journey — 

1  Words  and  Places,  p.  158. 


286  HISTORY  OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

properlj'^  boun),  busk  (to  dress),  cake,  call,  clog,  clumsy, 
curl,  cut,  dairy,  daze,  dirt,  droop,  fellow,  flit,  fro,  froward, 
hustings,  ill,  irk,  kid,  kindle,  loft,  odd,  plough,  root,  scold, 
sky,  tarn  (a  small  mountain  lake),  -weak,  and  ugly.  It  is  in 
Northumberland,  Durham,  Yorkshire,  Lincoln,  I^orfolk,  and 
even  in  the  western  counties  of  Cumberland  and  Lancashire, 
that  we  find  the  largest  admixture  of  Scandinavian  words. 

14.  Influence  of  the  Scandinavian  Element. — The  intro- 
duction of  the  Danes  and  the  Danish  language  into  England 
had  the  result,  in  the  east,  of  unsettling  the  inflexions  of  our 
language,  and  thus  of  preparing  the  way  for  their  complete  dis- 
appearance. The  declensions  of  nouns  became  unsettled ; 
nouns  that  used  to  make  their  plural  in  a  or  in  u  took  the 
more  striking  plural  suffix  as  that  belonged  to  a  quite  differ- 
ent declension.  The  same  things  happened  to  adjectives, 
verbs,  and  other  parts  of  language.  The  causes  of  this  are  not 
far  to  seek.  Spoken  language  can  never  be  so  accurate  as  writ- 
ten language ;  the  mass  of  the  English  and  Danes  never  cared 
or  could  care  much  for  grammar ;  and  both  parties  to  a  conver- 
sation would  of  course  hold  firmly  to  the  root  of  the  word, 
which  was  intelligible  to  both  of  them,  and  let  the  inflexions 
slide,  or  take  care  of  themselves.  The  more  the  English  and 
Danes  mixed  with  each  other,  the  oftener  they  met  at  church, 
at  games,  and  in  the  market-place,  the  more  rapidly  Avould  this 
process  of  strijDping  go  on, — the  smaller  care  Avould  both  peoples 
take  of  the  grammatical  inflexions  which  they  had  brought  with 
them  into  this  country. 

15.  The  Latin  Element  in  English. — So  far  as  the  number  of 
words — the  vocabulary — of  the  language  is  concerned,  the  Latin 
contribution  is  by  far  the  most  important  element  in  our  lan- 
guage. Latin  w^as  the  language  of  the  Eomans ;  and  the  Romans 
at  one  time  were  masters  of  the  whole  known  world.  jSTo  won- 
der, then,  that  they  influenced  so  many  peoples,  and  that  their 
language  found  its  way — east  and  west,  and  south  and  north — 
into  almost  all  the  countries  of  Europe.  There  are,  as  we  have 
seen,  more  Latin  than  English  words  in  our  o"\vn  language ;  and 
it  is  therefore  necessary  to  make  ourselves  acquainted  with  the 


VOCABULAEY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  287 

character  and  the  uses  of  the  Latin  element — an  element  so 
important — in  English.^  Kot  only  have  the  Romans  made 
contributions  of  large  numbers  of  words  to  the  English  language, 
but  they  have  added  to  it  a  quite  new  quality,  and  given  to  its 
genius  new  powers  of  expression.  So  true  is  this,  that  we  may 
say — without  any  sense  of  unfairness,  or  any  feeling  of  exaggera- 
tion— that,  until  the  Latin  element  was  thoroughly  mixed,  united 
with,  and  transfused  into  the  original  English,  the  writmgs  of 
Shakespeare  were  impossible,  the  poetry  of  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  could  not  have  come  into  existence.  This 
is  true  of  Shakespeare  ;  and  it  is  still  more  true  of  ]Milton.  His 
most  powerful  poetical  thoughts  are  written  in  lines,  the  most 
telling  words  in  which  are  almost  always  Latin.  This  may  be 
illustrated  by  the  following  lines  from  "  Lycidas  "  : — 

*'  It  was  that  fatal  and  perfidious  bark, 
Built  in  the  eclipse,  and  rigged  with  curses  dark, 
That  sunk  so  low  that  sacred  head  of  thine  !  " 

16.  The   Latin   Contributions  and  their  Dates. — The  first 

contribution  of  Latin  words  was  made  by  the  Romans — not, 
however,  to  the  English,  but  to  the  Britons.  The  Romans 
held  this  island  from  a.d.  43  to  a.d.  410.  They  left  behind 
them — when  they  were  obliged  to  go — a  small  contribution  of 
a  very  few  words,  but  all  of  them  important.  The  second 
contribution — to  a  large  extent  ecclesiastical — was  made  by 
Augustine  and  his  missionary  monks  from  Rome,  and  their  visit 
took  place  in  the  year  597.  The  third  contribution  was  made 
through  the  medium  of  the  JSTorman-French,  who  seized  and 
subdued  this  island  in  the  year  1066  and  following  years.  The 
fourth  contribution  came  to  us  by  the  aid  of  the  Revival  of 
Learning — rather  a  process  than  an  event,  the  dates  of  which 
are  vague,  but  which  may  be  said  to  have  taken  place  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  The  Latin  left  for  us 
by  the  Romans  is  called  Latin  of  the  First  Period;  that 
brought  over  by  the   missionaries   from   Rome,   Latin   of  the 

1  In  the  last  half  of  this  sentence,  all  the  essential  words — necessary,  ac- 
quainted, character,  uses,  element,  important,  are  Latin  (except  character^^ 
which  is  Greek). 


288 


HISTORY   OF  THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


Second  Period;  that  given  us  by  the  jSTomian-French,  Latin 
of  the  Third  Period;  and  that  which  came  to  lis  from  the 
Revival  of  Learning,  Latin  of  the  Fourth  Period.  The  first 
consists  of  a  few  names  handed  down  to  us  through  the  Britons  : 
the  second,  of  a  number  of  M'ords — mostly  relating  to  ecclesias- 
tical affairs — brought  into  the  spoken  language  by  the  monks ; 
the  third,  of  a  large  vocabulary,  that  came  to  us  by  mouth  and 
ear ;  and  the  fourth,  of  a  very  large  treasure  of  words,  which  we 
received  by  means  of  books  and  the  eye.  Let  us  now  look 
more  closely  and  carefully  at  them,  each  in  its  turn. 

17.  Latin  of  the  First  Period. — (i)  The  Romans  held  Bri- 
tain for  nearly  four  hundred  years ;  and  they  succeeded  in 
teaching  the  wealthier  classes  among  the  Southern  Britons  to 
speak  Latin.  They  also  built  towns  in  the  island,  made  splen- 
did roads,  formed  camps  at  important  points,  framed  good  laws, 
and  administered  the  affairs  of  the  island  with  considerable 
justice  and  uprightness.  But,  never  having  come  directly  into 
contact  with  the  Angles  or  Saxons  themselves,  they  could  not 
in  any  way  influence  their  language  by  oral  communication — 
by  speaking  to  them.  What  they  left  behind  them  was  only 
a  few  words,  most  of  which  became  merely  the  prefixes  or  the 
suffixes  of  the  names  of  places.  The  most  important  of  these 
words  were  Castra,  a  camp ;  Strata  {via),  a  paved  road ; 
Colonia,  a  settlement  (generally  of  soldiers) ;  Fossa,  a  trench  ; 
Portus,  a  harbour ;  and  Vallum,  a  rampart. 
'  18.  Latin  of  the  First  Period  (ii). — (ci)  The  treatment  of 
^he  Latin  w^ord  castra  in  this  island  has  been  both  singular  and 
significant.  It  has  existed  in  this  country  for  nearly  nineteen 
hundred  years ;  and  it  has  always  taken  the  colouring  of  the 
locality  into  whose  soil  it  struck  root.  In  the  north  and 
east  of  England  it  is  sounded  hard,  and  takes  the  form  of 
caster,  as  in  Lancaster,  Doncaster,  Tadcaster,  and  others. 
In  the  midland  counties,  it  takes  the  softer  form  of  cester, 
as  in  Leicester,  Towcester ;  and  in  the  extreme  west  and 
south,  it  takes  the  still  softer  form  of  Chester,  as  in  Chester, 
Manchester,  Winchester,  and  others.  It  is  worthy  of  notice 
that  there  are  in  Scotland  no  words  ending  in  castei'.     Though 


VOCABULAEY   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE.  289 

the  Romans  had  camps  in  Scotland,  they  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  so  important  as  to  become  the  centres  of  towns,  (b)  The 
word  strata  has  also  taken  different  forms  in  different  parts  of 
England.  While  castra  has  generally  been  a  suffix,  strata 
shows  itself  constantly  as  a  prefix.  When  the  Romans  came  to 
this  island,  the  country  was  impassable  by  man.  There  were 
no  roads  worthy  of  the  name, — what  paths  there  were  being 
merely  foot-paths  or  bridle-tracks.  One  of  the  first  things  the 
Romans  did  was  to  drive  a  strongly  built  military  road  from 
Richborough,  near  Dover,  to  the  river  Dee,  on  which  they 
formed  a  standing  camp  (Castra  stativa)  which  to  this  day 
bears  the  name  of  Chester.  This  great  road  became  the  high- 
way of  all  travellers  from  north  to  south,  —  was  known  as 
"  The  Street,"  and  was  called  by  the  Saxons  Watling  Street. 
But  this  word  street  also  became  a  much-used  prefix,  and  took 
the  different  forms  of  strat,  strad,  stret,  and  streat.  All 
towns  with  such  names  are  to  be  found  on  this  or  some  other 
great  Roman  road.  Thus  we  have  Stratford-on-Avon,  Strat- 
ton,  Stradbroke,  Stretton,  Stretford  (near  Manchester),  and 
Streatham  (near  London). — Over  the  other  words  we  need  not 
dwell  so  long,  Colonia  we  find  in  Colne,  Lincoln,  and  others; 
fossa  in  Fossway,  Fosbrooke,  and  Fosbridge  ;  portus,  in 
Portsmouth  and  Bridport;  and  vallum  in  wall,  which  ap- 
pears as  a  prefix  in  Wallbury  and  Walton.  To  the  Romans 
also  we  are  indebted  for  the  word  mile,  the  great  roads  which 
ran  through  the  island  being  carefully  marked  by  milestones. 

19.  Latin  Element  of  the  Second  Period  (i). — The  story  of 
Pope  Gregory  and  the  Roman  mission  to  England  is  widely 
known.  Gregory,  when  a  young  man,  was  crossing  the  Roman 
forum  one  morning,  and,  when  passing  the  side  where  the 
slave-mart  was  held,  observed,  as  he  walked,  some  beautiful 
boys,  with  fair  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  clear  bright  complexion. 
He  asked  a  bystander  of  what  nation  the  boys  Avere.  The 
answer  was,  that  they  were  Angles.  "]^o,  not  Angles,"  he 
replied ;  "  they  are  angels."  On  learning  further  that  they 
were  heathens,  he  registered  a  silent  vow  that  he  would,  if 
Providence  gave  him  an  opportunity,  deliver  them  from  the 


290  HISTORY  OF   THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

darkness  of  heathendom,  and  bring  them  and  their  relatives  into 
the  liglit  and  liberty  of  the  Gospel.  Time  passed  by ;  and  in 
the  long  course  of  time  Gregory  became  Pope.  In  his  unlooked- 
for  greatness,  he  did  not  forget  his  vow.  In  the  year  597  he 
sent  over  to  Kent  a  missionary,  called  Augustine,  along  with 
forty  monks.  They  were  well  received  by  the  King  of  Kent, 
allowed  to  settle  in  Canterbury,  and  to  build  a  small  cathedral 
there. 

20.  Latin  Element  of  the  Second  Period  (ii). — This  mission, 
the  churches  that  grew  out  of  it,  the  Christian  customs  that  in 
time  took  root  in  the  country,  and  the  trade  that  followed  in  its 
track,  brought  into  the  language  a  number  of  Latin  words,  most 
of  them  the  names  of  church  ofhces,  services,  and  observances. 
Thus  we  find,  in  our  oldest  English,  the  words,  postol  from 
apostolus,  a  person  sent ;  biscop,  from  episcopus,  an  overseer ; 
calc,  from  calix,  a  cup ;  clerc,  from  clericus,  an  ordained 
member  of  the  church ;  munec,  from  mondclius,  a  solitary 
person  or  monk  ;  preost,  from  ptreshyter,  an  elder ;  aelmesse, 
from  eleemosiine,  alms ;  predician,  from  pjrcedicare,  to  preach ; 
regol,  from  regula,  a  rule.  (Ajjostle,  hisJiop,  clerk,  monk,  priest, 
and  ahns  come  to  us  really  from  Greek  words — but  through 
the  Latin  tongue.) 

21.  Latin  Element  of  the  Second  Period  (iii). — The  intro- 
duction of  the  Roman  form  of  Cliristianity  brought  with  it 
increased  communication  with  Eome  and  with  the  Continent 
generally ;  widened  the  experience  of  Englishmen ;  gave  a 
stimulus  to  commerce ;  and  introduced  into  this  island  new 
things  and  products,  and  along  with  the  things  and  products 
new  names.  To  this  period  belongs  the  introduction  of  the 
words  :  Butter,  cheese  ;  cedar,  fig,  pear,  peach  ;  lettuce, 
lily ;  pepper,  pease  ;  camel,  lion,  elephant ;  oyster,  trout ; 
pound,  ounce ;    candle,  table  ;    marble  ;    mint. 

22.  Latin  of  the  Third  Period  (i). — The  Latin  element  of 
the  Third  Period  is  in  reality  the  Erench  that  was  brought 
over  to  this  island  by  the  I^ormans  in  1066,  and  is  generally 
called  Worman-French.  It  differed  from  the  Erench  of  Paris 
both  in  spelling  and  in  pronunciation.     Eor  example,  ISTorman- 


YOCABULAEY  OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE.  291 

French  wrote  people  for  peuple ;  leal  for  loyal ;  real  for 
royal ;  realm  for  royaume ;  and  so  on.  Bnt  both  of  these 
dialects  (and  every  dialect  of  French)  are  simply  forms  of  Latin 
— not  of  the  Latin  written  and  printed  in  books,  but  of  the 
Latin  spoken  in  the  camp,  the  fields,  the  streets,  the  village,  and 
the  cottage.  The  Romans  conquered  Gaul,  where  a  Keltic 
tongue  was  spoken;  and  the  Gauls  gradually  adopted  Latin  as 
their  mother  tongue,  and — with  the  exception  of  the  Bretons 
of  Brittany — left  off  their  Keltic  speech  almost  entirely.  In 
adopting  the  Latin  tongue,  they  had — as  in  similar  cases — taken 
firm  hold  of  the  root  of  the  word,  but  changed  the  pronunciation 
of  it,  and  had,  at  the  same  time,  compressed  very  much  or  entirely 
dropped  many  of  the  Latin  inflexions.  The  French  people,  an 
intermixture  of  Gauls  and  other  tribes  (some  of  them,  like  the 
Franks,  German),  ceased,  in  fact,  to  speak  their  own  language, 
and  learned  the  Latin  tongue.  The  Norsemen,  led  by  Duke 
Eolf  or  Eollo  or  Eou,  marched  south  in  large  numbers ;  and, 
in  the  year  912,  wrested  from  King  Charles  the  Simple  the  fair 
valley  of  the  Seine,  settled  in  it,  and  gave  to  it  the  name  of 
JN^ormandy.  These  I^orsemen,  now  IS^ormans,  were  Teutons,  and 
spoke  a  Teutonic  dialect ;  but,  when  they  settled  in  France, 
they  learned  in  course  of  time  to  speak  French.  The  kind  of 
French  they  spoke  is  called  J^orman-French,  and  it  was  this 
kind  of  French  that  they  brought  over  with  them  in  1066. 
But  ISTorman-French  had  made  its  appearance  in  England  before 
the  famous  year  of  '66  ;  for  Edward  the  Confessor,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  English  throne  in  1042,  had  been  educated  at  the 
N^orman  Court ;  and  he  not  only  spoke  the  language  himself,  but 
insisted  on  its  being  spoken  by  the  nobles  who  lived  with  him 
in  his  Court. 

23.  Latin  of  the  Third  Period  (ii).  Chief  Dates.^The  Is^r- 
mans,  having  utterly  beaten  down  the  resistance  of  the  English, 
seized  the  land  and  all  the  political  power  of  this  country,  and 
filled  all  kinds  of  offices — both  spiritual  and  temporal — with 
their  I^orman  brethren.  I^^orman-French  became  the  language  oi 
the  Court  and  the  nobility,  the  language  of  Parliament  and  the 
law  courts,  of  the  universities  and  the  schools,  of  the  Church 


292  HISTORY   OF  THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

and  of  literature.  The  English  people  held  fast  to  their  ovm 
tongue ;  but  they  picked  up  many  French  words  in  the  markets 
and  other  places  "where  men  most  do  congregate."  But 
French,  being  the  language  of  the  upper  and  ruling  classes,  was 
here  and  there  learned  by  the  English  or  Saxon  country-people 
who  had  the  ambition  to  be  in  the  fashion,  and  w^ere  eager  "  to 
speke  Frensch,  for  to  be  more  y-told  of," — to  be  more  highly 
considered  than  their  neighbours.  It  took  about  three  hundred 
years  for  French  words  and  phrases  to  soak  thoroughly  into 
English ;  and  it  was  not  until  England  was  saturated  with 
French  words  and  French  rhythms  that  the  great  poet  Chaucer 
appeared  to  produce  poetic  narratives  that  were  read  with 
delight  both  by  Norman  baron  and  by  Saxon  yeoman.  In  the 
course  of  these  three  hundred  years  this  intermixture  of  French 
with  English  had  been  slowly  and  silently  going  on.  Let  us 
look  at  a  few  of  the  chief  land-marks  in  the  long  process.  In 
1042  Edward  the  Confessor  introduces  iNTorman-French  into  his 
Court  In  1066  Duke  William  introduces  Xorman-Fiench  into 
the  whole  country,  and  even  into  parts  of  Scotland.  The  oldest 
English,  or  Anglo-Saxon,  ceases  to  be  written,  any^vhere  in  the 
island,  in  public  documents,  in  the  year  1154.  In  1204  we 
lost  iSTormandy,  a  loss  that  had  the  effect  of  bringing  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  Xormans  closer  together.  Eobert  of  Gloucester 
writes  his  chronicle  in  1272,  and  uses  a  large  nimiber  of  French 
w^ords.  But,  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Third,  in  the 
year  1258,  the  reformed  and  reforming  Government  of  the  day 
issued  a  proclamation  in  English,  as  well  as  in  French  and  Latin. 
In  1303,  Eobert  of  Brunn  introduces  a  large  number  of  French 
words.  The  French  wars  in  Edward  the  Third's  reign  brought 
about  a  still  closer  union  of  the  jSTorman  and  the  Saxon  elements 
of  the  nation.  But,  about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century 
a  reaction  set  in,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  genius  of  the  English 
language  refused  to  take  in  any  more  French  words.  The 
English  silent  stubbornness  seemed  to  have  prevailed,  and 
Englishmen  had  made  up  their  minds  to  be  English  in  speech, 
as  they  were  English  to  the  backbone  in  everything  else. 
Korman-French  had,  in  fact,  become  provincial,  and  was  spoken 


yOCABULAEY   OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  293 

only  here  and  there.  Before  the  great  Plague  —  commonly 
spoken  of  as  "The  Black  Death" — of  1349,  both  high  and 
low  seemed  to  be  alike  bent  on  learning  French,  but  the  reaction 
may  be  said  to  date  from  this  year.  The  culminating  point  of 
this  reaction  may  perhaps  be  seen  in  an  Act  of  Parliament  passed 
in  1362  by  Edward  IIL,  by  which  both  French  and  Latin 
had  to  give  place  to  English  in  our  courts  of  law.  The  poems 
of  Chaucer  are  the  literary  result  —  "the  bright  consummate 
flower  "  of  the  union  of  tAvo  great  powers — the  brilliance  of  the 
French  language  on  the  one  hand  and  the  homely  truth  and 
steadfastness  of  English  on  the  other.  Chaucer  was  born  in 
1340,  and  died  in  1400;  so  that  we  may  say  that  he  and  his 
poems — though  not  the  causes — are  the  signs  and  symbols  of 
the  great  influence  that  French  obtained  and  held  over  our 
mother  tongue.  But  although  we  accepted  so  many  icords  from 
our  ^N^orman-French  visitors  and  immigrants,  we  accepted  from 
them  no  hahit  of  speech  whatever.  We  accepted  from  them  no 
phrase  or  idiom  :  the  build  and  nature  of  the  English  language 
remained  the  same — unaffected  by  foreign  manners  or  by  foreign 
habits.  It  is  true  that  Chaucer  has  the  ridiculous  phrase,  "  I 
n'am  but  dead"  (  =  no  better  than,  i.e.  almost,  dead) — where 
ne-hut  is  nearly  an  exact  parallel  of  the  French  ne-que.  But, 
though  our  tongue  has  always  been  and  is  impervious  to 
foreign  idiom,  it  is  probably  owing  to  the  great  influx  of  French 
words  which  took  place  chiefly  in  the  thirteenth  century  that  many 
people  have  acquired  a  habit  of  using  a  long  French  or  Latin 
word  when  an  English  word  would  do  quite  as  well — or,  indeed, 
a  great  deal  better.  Thus  some  people  are  found  to  call  a  good 
house,  a  desirable  mansion;  and,  instead  of  the  c[uiet  old  English 
proverb,  "  Buy  once,  buy  twice,"  we  have  the  roundabout  Latin- 
isms,  "A  single  commission  will  ensure  a  repetition  of  orders." 
An  American  writer,  speaking  of  the  foreign  ambassadors  who 
had  been  attacked  by  Japanese  soldiers  in  Yedc'o,  says  that 
"  they  concluded  to  occupy  a  location  more  salubrious,"  This  is 
only  a  foreign  language,  instead  of  the  simple  and  homely  Eng- 
lish :  "  They  made  up  their  minds  to  settle  in  a  healthier  spot." 


294  HISTORY  OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

24.  Latin  of  the  Third  Period  (iii).  Norman  Words  (a). — 
The  Korman-French  words  were  of  several  different  kinds. 
There  were  words  connected  with  war,  with  feudalism,  and 
with  the  chase.  There  were  new  law  terms,  and  words  con- 
nected  with  the  State,  and  the  new  institutions  introduced  by 
the  Normans.  There  were  new  words  brought  in  by  the  ]^^^o^- 
man  churchmen.  New  titles  unknown  to  the  English  were 
also  introduced.  A  better  kind  of  cooking,  a  higher  and  less 
homely  style  of  living,  was  brought  into  this  country  by  the 
Normans  ;  and,  along  with  these,  new  and  unheard-of  words. 

25.  Norman  Words  (h). — The  following  are  some  of  the 
Norman  -  French  terms  connected  with  war  :  Arms,  armoiir ; 
assault,  battle;  captain,  chivalry;  joust,  lance;  standard, 
trumpet ;  mail,  vizor.  The  English  word  for  armour  was 
harness ;  but  the  Normans  degraded  that  word  into  the  armour 
of  a  horse.  Battle  comes  from  the  Fr.  hat f re,  to  beat :  the 
corresponding  English  word  is  fight.  Captain  comes  from 
the  Latin  ca/nd,  a  head.  Mail  comes  from  the  Latin  macula, 
the  mesh  of  a  net ;  and  the  first  coats  of  mail  were  made  of  rings 
or  a  kind  of  metal  network.  Vizor  comes  from  the  Fr.  viser, 
to  look.  It  Avas  the  barred  part  of  the  helmet  which  a  man 
could  see  through. 

26.  Norman  Words  (c). — Feudalism  may  be  described  as  the 
holding  of  land  on  condition  of  giving  or  providing  service  in 
war.  Thus  a  kniglit  held  land  of  his  baron,  under  j^romise  to 
serve  him  so  many  days  ;  a  baron  of  his  king,  on  condition 
that  he  brought  so  many  men  into  the  field  for  such  and  such 
a  time  at  the  call  of  his  Overlord.  William  the  Conqueror 
made  the  feudal  system  universal  in  every  part  of  England, 
and  compelled  every  English  baron  to  swear  homage  to  him- 
self personally.  Words  relating  to  feudalism  are,  among 
others  :  Homage,  fealty ;  esquire,  vassal ;  herald,  scutch- 
eon, and  others.  Homage  is  the  declaration  of  obedience  for 
life  of  one  man  to  another — that  the  inferior  is  the  man  (Fr. 
homme  ;  L.  homo)  of  the  superior.  Fealty  is  the  Norman-French 
form  of  the  word  fidelity.  An  esquire  is  a  scutiger  (L.),  or 
shield-hearer;   for  he  carried  the  shield  of  the  knight,  when 


VOCABULARY   OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  2d 5 

they  were  travelling  and  no  fighting  was  going  on.  A  vassal 
was  a  "little  young  man," — in  Low-Latin  vassallus,  a  diminu- 
tive of  vassus,  from  the  Keltic  word  giods,  a  man.  (The  form 
vassaletus  is  also  found,  which  gives  us  our  varlet  and  valet.) 
Scutcheon  comes  from  the  Lat.  scutum,  a  shield.  Then  scut- 
cheon or  escutcheon  came  to  mean  coat-of-arms — or  the  marks 
and  signs  on  his  shield  by  which  the  name  and  family  of  a  man 
were  known,  when  he  himself  was  covered  from  head  to  foot  in 
iron  mail. 

27.  Norman  Words  (d). — The  terms  connected  with  the 
chase  are :  Brace,  couple ;  chase,  course ;  covert,  copse, 
forest ;  leveret,  mews ;  quarry,  venison.  A  few  remarks 
about  some  of  these  may  be  interesting.  Brace  comes  from 
the  Old  French  b7rice,  an  arm  (Mod.  French  bras) ;  from  the 
Latin  hracMum.  The  root-idea  seems  to  be  that  which  encloses 
or  holds  up.  Thus  hraclng  air  is  that  which  strings  up  the 
nerves  and  muscles ;  and  a  brace  of  birds  was  two  birds  tied 
together  with  a  string. — The  word  forest  contains  in  itself 
a  good  deal  of  unwritten  l!^orman  history.  It  comes  from  the 
Latin  adverb  foras,  out  of  doors.  Hence,  in  Italy,  a  stranger  or 
foreigner  is  still  called  2i  forestiere.  A  forest  in  ISTorman-French 
was  not  necessarily  a  breadth  of  land  covered  with  trees  ;  it 
was  simply  land  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  common  law. 
Hence,  when  William  the  Concj[ueror  created  the  New  Forest, 
he  merely  took  the  land  out  of  the  rule  and  charge  of  the  com- 
mon law,  and  put  it  under  his  own  regal  power  and  personal 
care.  In  land  of  this  kind — much  of  which  Avas  kept  for  hunt- 
ing in — trees  were  afterwards  planted,  partly  to  shelter  large 
game,  and  partly  to  employ  ground  otherwise  useless  in  growing 
timber. — Mews  is  a  very  odd  word.  It  comes  from  the  Latin 
verb  mutare,  to  change.  When  the  falcons  employed  in  hunting 
were  changing  their  feathers,  or  moulting  (the  word  moult  is  the 
same  as  mews  in  a  different  dress),  the  French  shut  them  in 
a  cage,  which  they  called  mue — from  mutare.  Then  the  stables 
for  horses  were  put  in  the  same  place ;  and  hence  a  row  of 
stables  has  come  to  be  called  a  mews. — Quarry  is  quite  as 
strange.     The  word    quarry,  which   means    a  mine  of   stones. 


296  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

comes  from  the  Latin  quadrdre,  to  make  square.  But  i)\^ 
hunting  term  quarry  is  of  a  quite  different  origin.  That  comes 
from  the  Latin  corium  (the  hide),  which  the  Old  French  altered 
into  curee.  AVhen  a  wild  beast  was  run  down  and  killed,  the 
entrails,  wrapped  up  in  the  hide,  were  thrown  to  the  dogs  as 
their  share  of  the  hunt.  The  word  venison  comes  to  us, 
through  French,  from  the  Lat.  vendri,  to  hunt ;  and  hence  it 
means  hunted  fiesh.  The  same  word  gives  us  ve.nery — the  term 
that  was  used  in  the  fourteenth  century,  by  Chaucer  among 
others,  for  hunting. 

28.  Norman  Words  (e). — The  jSTormans  introduced  into  Eng- 
land their  own  system  of  law,  their  own  law  officers  ;  and  hence, 
into  the  English  language,  came  ISTorman-French  law  terms. 
The  following  are  a  few  :  Assize,  attorney  ;  chancellor,  court; 
judge,  justice ;  plaintiff,  sue ;  summons,  trespass.  A  few 
remarks  about  some  of  these  may  be  useful.  The  chancellor 
(cancellarius)  w^as  the  legal  authority  w^ho  sat  behind  lattice- 
work, which  was  called  in  Latin  cancelU.  This  word  means, 
primarily,  llUle  crahs ;  and  it  is  a  diminutive  from  cancer,  a 
crab.  It  was  so  called  because  the  lattice-work  looked  like 
crabs'  claws  crossed.  Our  word  cancel  comes  from  the  same 
root :  it  means  to  make  cross  lines  through  anything  we  wish 
deleted. — Court  comes  from  the  Latin  cors  or  coliors,  a  sheep- 
pen.  It  afterwards  came  to  mean  an  enclosure,  and  also  a 
body  of  Roman  soldiers. — The  proper  English  word  for  di  judge 
is  deemster  or  demster  (which  appears  as  the  proper  name 
Dempster);  and  this  is  still  the  name  for  a  judge  in  the  Isle 
of  Man.  The  French  word  comes  from  the  Latin  judicem  (juSy 
right,  and  dicare,  to  point  out).  The  word  jus  is  seen  in  the 
other  French  term  which  we  have  received  from  the  Normans — 
justice. — Sue  comes  from  the  Old  Fr.  suir,  which  appears  in 
Modern  Fr.  as  suivre.  It  is  derived  from  the  Lat.  word  sequor, 
I  follow  (which  gives  our  sequel) ;  and  we  have  compounds  of  it 
in  ensue  J  issue,  and  pursue. — The  tres  in  trespass  is  a  French 
form  of  the  Latin  trans,  beyond  or  across.  Trespass,  therefore, 
means  to  cross  the  bounds  of  right. 

29.  Norman  Words  (/). — Some  of  the  church  terms  intro- 


YOCABULAEY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  297 

duced  by  the  JSTorman-French  are:  Sermon,  Bible ;  baptism, 
ceremony;  friar;  tonsure;  penance,  relic. — The  Normans 
gave  us  the  words  title  and  dignity  themselves,  and  also 
the  following  titles :  Duke,  marquis ;  count,  viscount ; 
peer ;  mayor,  and  others.  A  duke  is  a  leader ;  from  the 
Latin  dux  (^  =  duc-s).  A  marquis  is  a  lord  who  has  to  ride 
the  marches  or  borders  between  one  county,  or  between  one 
country,  and  another.  A  marquis  was  also  called  a  Xiord- 
Marcher.  The  word  count  never  took  root  in  this  island, 
because  its  place  was  already  occupied  by  the  Danish  name 
earl ;  but  we  preserve  it  in  the  names  countess  and  viscount 
— the  latter  of  which  means  a  person  in  the  place  of  (L.  vice) 
a  count.  Peer  comes  from  the  Latin  par,  an  equal.  The 
House  of  Peers  is  the  House  of  Lords — that  is,  of  those  who 
are,  at  least  when  in  the  House,  equal  in  rank  and  equal  in 
power  of  voting.  It  is  a  fundamental  doctrine  in  English 
law  that  every  man  "is  to  be  tried  by  his  j>ecv\^\" — It  is  Avorthy 
of  note  that,  in  general,  the  French  names  for  different  kinds 
of  food  designated  the  cooked  meats ;  while  the  names  for 
the  living  animals  that  furnish  them  are  English.  Thus 
we  have  heef  and  ox ;  mutton  and  sheep ;  veal  and  calf ;  pork 
and  pig.  There  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's 
*Ivanhoe,'  which  illustrates  this  fact  with  great  force  and  juc- 
turesqueness  : — 

"  '  Gurth,  I  advise  thee  to  call  off  Fangs,  and  leave  the  herd  to 
their  destiny,  which,  whether  they  meet  with  bands  of  travelling 
soldiers,  or  of  outlaws,  or  of  wandering  pilgrims,  can  be  little 
else  than  to  be  converted  into  JS'ormans  before  morning,  to  thy 
no  small  ease  and  comfort.' 

"  '  The  swine  turned  ISTormans  to  my  comfort ! '  quoth  Gurth; 
*  expound  that  to  me,  Wamba,  for  my  brain  is  too  dull,  and  my 
mind  too  vexed,  to  read  riddles.' 

"  '  Why,  how  call  you  those  grunting  brutes  running  about  on 
their  four  legs  1 '  demanded  Wamba. 

" '  Swine,  fool,  swine,'  said  the  herd ;  '  every  fool  knows 
that.' 

"  'And  swine  is  good  Saxon,'  said  the  jester;   *■  but  how  call 


298  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

you  the  sow  when  she  is  flayed,  and  drawn,  and  quartered,  and 
hung  up  by  the  heels,  Hke  a  traitor  1 ' 

"  '  Pork,'  answered  the  swine-herd. 

"'I  am  very  glad  every  fool  knows  that  too,'  said  "Wamba; 
'  and  pork,  I  think,  is  good  Norman-French :  and  so  when  the 
brute  lives,  and  is  in  the  charge  of  a  Saxon  slave,  she  goes  by 
her  Saxon  name ;  but  becomes  a  Norman,  and  is  called  pork, 
when  she  is  carried  to  the  castle-hall  to  feast  among  the  nobles  ; 
what  dost  thou  think  of  this,  friend  Gurth,  ha  1 ' 

"  '  It  is  but  too  true  doctrine,  friend  Wamba,  however  it  got 
into  thy  fool's  pate.' 

" '  Nay,  I  can  tell  you  more,'  said  Wamba,  in  the  same  tone ; 
*  there  is  old  Alderman  Ox  continues  to  hold  his  Saxon  epithet, 
while  he  is  under  the  charge  of  serfs  and  bondsmen  such  as 
thou,  but  becomes  Beef,  a  fiery  French  gallant,  when  he  arrives 
before  the  worshipful  jaws  that  are  destined  to  consume  him. 
Mynheer  Calf,  too,  becomes  Monsieur  de  Veau  in  the  like  man- 
ner ;  he  is  Saxon  when  he  requires  tendance,  and  takes  a  Nor- 
man name  when  he  becomes  matter  of  enjoyment.' " 

30.  General  Character  of  the  Norman-French  Contributions. 
— The  Norman-French  contributions  to  our  language  gave  us 
a  number  of  general  names  or  class-names ;  while  the  names 
for  individual  things  are,  in  general,  of  purely  English  origin. 
The  words  animal  and  beast,  for  example,  are  French  (or 
Latin) ;  but  the  words  fox,  hound,  "whale,  snake,  wasp,  and 
fly  are  purely  English. — The  words  family,  relation,  parent, 
ancestor,  are  French ;  but  the  names  father,  mother,  son, 
daughter,  gossip,  are  English. — The  words  title  and  dignity 
are  French;  but  the  words  king  and  queen,  lord  and  lady, 
knight  and  sheriff,  are  English. — Perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
instance  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  abstract  terms  employed 
for  the  offices  and  functions  of  State.  Of  these,  the  English 
language  possesses  only  one — the  word  kingdom.  Norman- 
French,  on  the  other  hand,  has  given  us  the  words  realm,  court, 
state,  constitution,  people,  treaty,  audience,  navy,  army, 
and  others — amounting  in  all  to  nearly  forty.  AVhen,  how- 
ever, we  come  to  terms  denoting  labour  and  work — such  as  agri- 


VOCABULARY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  ^99 

culture  and  seafaring,  we  find  the  proportions  entirely  reversed. 
The  English  language,  in  such  cases,  contributes  almost  every- 
thing ;  the  French  nearly  nothing.  In  agriculture,  while  plough, 
rake,  harrow,  and  very  many  others  are  English  words,  not  a 
single  term  for  an  agricultural  process  or  implement  has  been 
given  us  by  the  warlike  ISTorman -Erench. — While  the  words 
ship  and  boat;  hull  and  fleet;  oar  and  sail,  are  all  English, 
the  Normans  have  presented  us  with  only  the  single  word 
pro"w.  It  is  as  if  all  the  Norman  conqueror  had  to  do  was  to 
take  his  stand  at  the  prow,  gazing  upon  the  land  he  was  going 
to  seize,  while  the  Low-German  sailors  worked  for  him  at  oar  and 
sail. — Again,  while  the  names  of  the  various  parts  of  the  body 
— eye,  nose,  cheek,  tongue,  hand,  foot,  and  more  than  eighty 
others — are  all  English,  we  have  received  only  about  ten  similar 
words  from  the  French — such  as  spirit  and  corpse ;  perspira- 
tion ;  face  and  stature.  Speaking  broadly,  we  may  say  that  all 
words  that  express  general  notions,  or  generalisations,  are 
French  or  Latin ;  while  words  that  express  specific  actions  or 
concrete  existences  are  pure  English.  Mr  Spalding  observes — 
"  We  use  a  foreign  term  naturalised  when  we  speak  of  '  colour ' 
universally ;  but  we  fall  back  on  our  home  stores  if  we  have  to 
tell  what  the  colour  is,  calling  it  '  red '  or  '  yellow,'  '  white '  or 
'  black,'  '  green  '  or  '  brown.'  We  are  Romans  when  we  speak 
in  a  general  way  of  '  moving  ' ;  but  we  are  Teutons  if  we  '  leap  ' 
or  '  spring,'  if  we  '  slip,'  '  slide,'  or  '  fall,'  if  we  '  walk,'  '  run,' 
'  swim,'  or  '  ride,'  if  we   '  creep  '  or  '  crawl '  or  '  fly.'  " 

31.  Gains  to  English  from  Norman-French. — The  gains  from 
the  Norman-French  contribution  are  large,  and  are  also  of  very 
great  importance.  Mr  Lowell  says,  that  the  Norman  element 
came  in  as  quickening  leaven  to  the  rather  heavy  and  lumpy 
Saxon  dough.  It  stirred  the  whole  mass,  gave  new  life  to 
the  language,  a  much  higher  and  wider  scope  to  the  thoughts, 
much  greater  power  and  copiousness  to  the  expression  of  our 
thoughts,  and  a  finer  and  brighter  rhythm  to  our  English 
sentences.  "  To  Chaucer,"  he  says,  in  '  My  Study  Windows,' 
"  French  must  have  been  almost  as  truly  a  mother  tongue  as 
English.     In  him  we  see  the  first  result  of  the  Norman  yeast 


300  HISTORY   OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

upon  the  liome-baked  Saxon  loaf.  The  flour  had  been  honest, 
the  paste  Avell  kneaded,  but  the  inspiring  leaven  was  wanting 
till  the  jSTorman  brought  it  over.  Chaucer  works  still  in  the 
solid  material  of  his  race,  but  with  what  airy  lightness  has  he 
not  infused  it  1  Without  ceasing  to  be  English,  he  has  escaped 
from  being  insular."  Let  us  look  at  some  of  these  gains  a  little 
more  in  detail. 

32.  Norman -French  Synonsrms. — We  must  not  consider  a 
synonym  as  a  word  that  means  exactly  the  same  thing  as  the 
word  of  which  it  is  a  synonym ;  because  then  there  would  be 
neither  room  nor  use  for  such  a  word  in  the  language.  A 
synonym  is  a  word  of  the  same  meaning  as  another,  but  with 
a  slightly  different  shade  of  meaning,  —  or  it  is  used  under 
different  circumstances  and  in  a  different  connection,  or  it  puts 
the  same  idea  under  a  new  angle.  Begin  and  commence,  will 
and  testament,  are  exact  equivalents — are  complete  synonyms; 
but  there  are  very  few  more  of  this  kind  in  our  language.  The 
moment  the  genius  of  a  language  gets  hold  of  two  words  of  the 
same  meaning,  it  sets  them  to  do  different  kinds  of  work, — to 
express  different  parts  or  shades  of  that  meaning.  Thus  limb 
and  member,  luck  and  fortune,  have  the  same  meaning ; 
but  we  cannot  speak  of  a  limb  of  the  Royal  Society,  or  of 
the  luck  of  the  Eothschilds,  who  made  their  fortune  by  hard 
work  and  steady  attention  to  business.  We  have,  by  the  aid  of 
the  JSTomian-French  contributions,  flower  as  well  as  bloom; 
branch  and  bough ;  purchase  and  buy ;  amiable  and 
friendly ;  cordial  and  hearty ;  country  and  land ;  gentle 
and  mild  ;  desire  and  wish  ;  labour  and  work  ;  miserable  and 
wretched.  These  pairs  of  words  enable  poets  and  other  writers 
to  use  the  right  word  in  the  right  place.  And  we,  preferring 
our  Saxon  or  good  old  English  words  to  any  French  or  Latin 
importations,  prefer  to  speak  of  a  hearty  welcome  instead 
of  a  cordial  reception ;  of  a  loving  wife  instead  of  an  ami- 
able consort ;  of  a  wretched  man  instead  of  a  miserable 
individual. 

33.  Bilingualism. — How  did  these  Norman -French  words 
find  their  way  into  the  language  1     What  was  the  road  by  which 


YOCABULARY  OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE,  301 

they  came  1  Wliat  was  the  process  that  enabled  them  to  find  a 
place  in  and  to  strike  deep  root  into  our  English  soil  ^  Did  the 
learned  men — the  monks  and  the  clergy — make  a  selection  of 
words,  write  them  in  their  books,  and  teach  them  to  the  English 
people  ?  l^othing  of  the  sort.  The  process  Avas  a  much  ruder 
one — but  at  the  same  time  one  much  more  practical,  more  effec- 
tual, and  more  lasting  in  its  results.  The  two  peoples — the 
Normans  and  the  English — found  that  they  had  to  live  together. 
They  met  at  church,  in  the  market-place,  in  the  drilling  field,  at 
the  archery  butts,  in  the  courtyards  of  castles ;  and,  on  the 
battle-fields  of  France,  the  Saxon  boA^Tuan  showed  that  he  could 
fight  as  well,  as  bravely,  and  even  to  better  purpose  than  his  lord 
— the  Xorman  baron.  At  all  these  places,  under  all  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  Norman  and  the  Englishman  were  obliged  to 
speak  with  each  other.  Now  arose  a  striking  phenomenon. 
Every  man,  as  Professor  Earle  puts  it,  turned  himself  as  it  were 
into  a  walking  phrase-book  or  dictionary.  When  a  Norman  had 
to  use  a  French  w^ord,  he  tried  to  put  the  English  word  for  it 
alongside  of  the  French  word  ;  when  an  Englishman  used  an 
English  word,  he  joined  with  it  the  French  equivalent.  Then 
the  language  soon  began  to  swarm  with  "  yokes  of  words  " ;  our 
words  went  in  couples ;  and  the  habit  then  begun  has  continued 
down  even  to  the  present  day.  And  thus  it  is  that  we  possess 
such  couples  as  will  and  testament ;  act  and  deed  ;  use  and 
wont ;  aid  and  abet.  Chaucer's  poems  are  full  of  these  pairs. 
He  joins  together  hunting  and  venery  (though  both  words 
mean  exactly  the  same  thing) ;  nature  and  kind ;  cheere  and 
face  ;  pray  and  beseech  ;  mirth  and  jollity.  Later  on,  the 
Prayer-Book,  which  was  written  in  the  years  1540  to  1559, 
keeps  up  the  habit :  and  we  find  the  pairs  acknowledge  and 
confess ;  assemble  and  meet  together ;  dissemble  and 
cloak ;  humble  and  lowly.  To  the  more  English  j)art  of  the 
congregation  the  simple  Saxon  words  would  come  home  with 
kindly  association  ;  to  others,  the  words  can/ess,  assemble,  dis- 
semble, and  humble  would  speak  with  greater  force  and  clearness. 
— Such  is  the  phenomenon  called  by  Professor  Earle  bilingual- 
ism.     "It  is,  in  fact,"  he  says,  "a  putting  of  colloquial  for- 


302  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

mulse  to  do  the  duty  of  a  French-English  and  English-French 
vocabulary."  Even  Hooker,  avIio  wrote  at  the  end  of  the  six^ 
teenth  century,  seems  to  have  been  obliged  to  use  these  pairs ; 
and  we  find  in  his  ^vritings  the  couples  "  cecity  and  blindness," 
"nocive  and  hurtful,"  "sense  and  meaning." 

34.  Losses  of  English  from  the  Incoming  of  Norman-French. 
— (i)  Before  the  coming  of  the  Xormans,  the  English  language 
Avas  in  the  habit  of  forming  compounds  with  ease  and  effect. 
But,  after  the  introduction  of  the  Norman-Erench  language,  that 
power  seems  gradually  to  have  disappeared ;  and  ready-made 
French  or  Latin  words  usurped  the  place  of  the  home-grown 
English  compound.  Thus  despair  pushed  out  wanhope ; 
suspicion  dethroned  wantrust ;  bidding  -  sale  was  expelled 
by  auction ;  learning-knight  by  disciple  ;  rime-craft  by  the 
Greek  word  arithmetic ;  gold-hoard  by  treasure ;  book-hoard 
by  library  ;  earth  -  tilth  by  agriculture  ;  wonstead  by 
residence ;  and  so  with  a  large  number  of  others. — ^Nlany 
English  words,  moreover,  had  their  meanings  depreciated  and 
almost  degraded ;  and  the  words  themselves  lost  their  ancient 
rank  and  dignity.  Thus  the  ISTorman  conquerors  put  their 
foot — literally  and  metaphorically — on  the  Saxon  chair, ^  which 
thus  became  a  stool,  or  a  footstool.  Thatch,  which  is  a 
doublet  of  the  word  deck,  was  the  name  for  any  kind  of  roof ; 
but  the  coming  of  the  Gorman-French  lowered  it  to  indicate  a 
roof  of  straw.  Whine  was  used  for  the  weejDing  or  crying  of 
human  beings  ;  but  it  is  now  restricted  to  the  cry  of  a  dog. 
Hide  was  the  generic  term  for  the  skin  of  any  animal ;  it  is 
now  limited  in  modern  English  to  the  skin  of  a  beast. — The 
most  damaging  result  upon  our  language  was  that  it  entirely 
stopped  the  gro-wth  of  English  words.  "\Ye  could,  for 
example,  make  out  of  the  word  burn — the  derivatives  brunt, 
brand,  brandy,  brown,  brimstone,  and  others ;  but  this 
power  died  out  with  the  coming  in  of  the  2s  orman- French 
language.     After  that,  instead  of  growing  our  own  words,  we 

^  Chair  is  the  Norman-French  form  of  the  French  chaise.  The  Germans 
itill  call  a  chair  a  stuhl;  and  among  the  English,  stool  waj3  the  universal  name 
till  the  twelfth  century. 


VOCABULARY   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE.  303 

adopted  them  ready-made. — Professor  Craik  compares  the 
English  and  Latin  languages  to  two  banks ;  and  says  that, 
when  the  Xormans  came  over,  the  account  at  the  English  bank 
was  closed,  and  we  drew  only  upon  the  Latin  bank.  But  the 
case  is  worse  than  this.  English  lost  its  power  of  growth  and 
expansion  from  the  centre;  from  this  time,  it  could  only  add 
to  its  bulk  by  borrowing  and  conveying  from  without — by  the 
external  accretion  of  foreign  words. 

35.  Losses  of  English  from  the  Incoming  of  Norman-French. 
— (ii)  The  arrestment  of  growth  in  the  purely  English  part  of 
our  language,  owing  to  the  irruption  of  ISTorman-French,  and 
also  to  the  ease  with  which  we  could  take  a  ready-made  word 
from  Latin  or  from  Greek,  killed  off  an  old  power  which  we 
once  possessed,  and  which  was  not  without  its  own  use  and 
expressiveness.  This  was  the  power  of  making  compound 
words.  The  Greeks  in  ancient  times  had,  and  the  Germans 
in  modern  times  have,  this  power  in  a  high  degree.  Thus  a 
Greek  comic  poet  has  a  word  of  fourteen  syllables,  which  may 
be  thus  translated — 

"Meanly-rising-early-and-hurrying-to-the-tribunal-to-denounce-another' 
for-an-infraction-of-the-law-concerning-the-exportation-of-figs."^ 

And  the  Germans  have  a  compound  like  "  the-all-to-nothing- 
crushing  philosopher."  The  Germans  also  BOi^y  iron-path  for  rail- 
way, liandslioe  for  glove,  and  finger-hat  for  tMmhle.  "We  also 
possessed  this  power  at  one  time,  and  employed  it  both  in 
proper  and  in  common  names.  Thus  we  had  and  have  the 
names  Brakespear,  Shake-staff,  Shakespear,  Golightly,  Dolittle, 
Standfast ;  and  the  common  nouns  iva7it-wit,  find-fault,  mumble- 
netvs  (for  tale-bearer),  pinch-penny  (for  miser),  slugabed.  In 
older  times  we  had  thr'ee- foot -stool,  three-man-beetle  ^ ;  stone- 
cold,  heaven-bright,  honey-sweet,  snail-slow,  nut-brown,  lily-livered 
(for  cowardly) ;  brand-fire-new ;  earth-wandering,  wind-dried, 
thunder-blasted,  death-doomed,  and  many  others.  But  such 
words  as  forbears  or  fore-elders  have  been  pushed  out  by  ances- 

1  In  two  words,  z.  fig -shower  or  sycophant. 

2  A  club  for  beating  clothes,  that  could  be  handled  only  by  three  men. 


304  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

tors ;  foreicit  by  caution  or  prudence ;  and  inioit  by  conscience. 
Mr  Barnes,  the  Dorsetshire  poet,  would  like  to  see  these  and 
similar  compounds  restored,  and  thinks  that  we  might  well 
return  to  the  old  clear  well-springs  of  "English  undefiled," 
and  make  our  own  compounds  out  of  our  own  words.  He 
even  carries  his  desires  into  the  region  of  English  grammar, 
and,  for  degrees  of  comjjarison,  proposes  the  phrase  jn'tches  of 
suchness.  Thus,  instead  of  the  Latin  word  omnibus,  he  would 
have  folk-wain;  for  the  Greek  botany,  he  would  substitute 
icort-lore;  for  auction,  he  would  give  us  hode-sale ;  globule  he 
would  replace  with  ballkin  ;  the  Greek  word  horizon  must  give 
way  to  the  pure  English  sky-edge ;  and,  instead  of  quadrangle, 
he  would  have  us  all  write  and  say  four-ioinkle. 

36.  Losses  of  English  from  the  Incoming  of  Norman- 
French. — (iii)  When  once  a  way  was  made  for  the  entrance  of 
Erench  words  into  our  English  language,  the  immigrations  were 
rapid  and  numerous.  Hence  there  were  many  changes  both 
in  the  grammar  and  in  the  vocabulary  of  English  from  the 
year  1100,  the  year  in  Avhicli  we  may  suppose  those  English- 
men who  were  living  at  the  date  of  the  battle  of  Hastings  had 
died  out.  These  changes  were  more  or  less  rapid,  according 
to  circumstances.  But  perhaps  the  most  raj^id  and  remarkable 
change  took  place  in  the  lifetime  of  William  Caxton,  the  great 
printer,  who  was  born  in  1410.  In  his  preface  to  his  translation 
of  the  '^neid'  of  Yirgil,  which  he  published  in  1490,  when  he 
was  eighty  years  of  age,  he  says  that  he  cannot  understand  old 
books  that  were  written  when  he  was  a  boy — that  "the  olde 
\  Englysshe  is  more  lyke  to  dutche  than  englysshe,"  and  that  "  our 
langage  now  vsed  varyeth  ferre  from  that  whiche  was  vsed  and 
spoken  when  I  was  borne.  For  we  Englysshemen  ben  borne 
ynder  the  domynacyon  of  the  mone  [moon],  which  is  neuer 
stedfaste,  but  euer  wauerjoige,  wexynge  one  season,  and  waneth 
and  dycreaseth  another  season."  This  as  regards  time. — But 
he  has  the  same  complaint  to  make  as  regards  place.  "  Comyn 
englysshe  that  is  spoken  in  one  shyre  varyeth  from  another." 
And  he  tells  an  odd  story  in  illustration  of  this  fact.  He  teUs 
about  certain  merchants  who  were  in  a  ship  "  in  Tamyse  "  (on  the 


YOCABULAKY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  305 

Thames),  ■who  were  bound  for  Zealand,  but  were  wind-stayed  at 
the  Foreland, .  and  took  it  into  their  heads  to  go  on  shore  there. 
One  of  the  merchants,  whose  name  was  Sheffelde,  a.  mercer, 
entered  a  house,  "and  axed  for  mete,  and  specyally  he  axyd 
after  eggys,"  But  the  "  goode-wyf  "  replied  that  she  "  coude 
speke  no  frenshe."  The  merchant,  who  was  a  steady  English- 
man, lost  his  temper,  "  for  he  also  coude  sjDeke  no  frenshe,  but 
wolde  have  hadde  eggys  ;  and  she  understode  hym  not."  Fortu- 
nately, a  friend  happened  to  join  him  in  the  house,  and  he  acted 
as  interpreter.  The  friend  said  that  "he  wolde  have  eyren; 
then  the  goode  wyf  sayde  that  she  understod  hym  wel."  And 
then  the  simple-minded  but  much-perplexed  Caxton  goes  on  to 
say :  "  Loo  !  what  sholde  a  man  in  thyse  dayes  now  wryte,  egges 
or  eyren  ? "  Such  were  the  difficulties  that  beset  printers  and 
writers  in  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

37.  Latin  of  the  Fourth  Period. — (i)  This  contribution  differs 
very  essentially  in  character  from  the  last.  The  JSTorman-French 
contribution  was  a  gift  from  a  people  to  a  people — from  living 
beings  to  living  beings  ;  this  new  contribution  was  rather  a  con- 
veyance of  words  from  books  to  books,  and  it  never  influenced 
— in  any  great  degree — the  spoken  language  of  the  EngHsh 
people.  The  ear  and  the  mouth  carried  the  jSTorman-French 
words  into  our  language ;  the  eye,  the  pen,  and  the  printing- 
press  were  the  instruments  that  brought  in  the  Latin  words  of 
the  Fourth  Period.  The  l^orman-French  w^ords  that  came  in 
took  and  kept  their  place  in  the  spoken  language  of  the  masses 
of  the  people ;  the  Latin  words  that  we  received  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  kept  their  place  in  the  written  or 
printed  language  of  books,  of  scholars,  and  of  literary  men. 
These  new  Latin  words  came  in  with  the  Revival  of  Learning, 
which  is  also  called  the  Renascence. 

The  Turks  attacked  and  took  Constantinople  in  the  year 
1453;  and  the  great  Greek  and  Latin  scholars  who  lived  in 
that  city  hurriedly  packed  up  their  priceless  manuscripts  and 
books,  and  fled  to  all  parts  of  Italy,  Germany,  France,  and  even 
into  England.  The  loss  of  the  East  became  the  gain  of  the 
West.     These  scholars  became  teachers ;  they  taught  the  Greek 


30 G  HISTORY  OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

and  Eoman  classics  to  eager  and  earnest  learners ;  and  thus  a 
new  impulse  was  given  to  the  study  of  the  great  masterpieces  of 
human  thought  and  literary  style.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  in 
course  of  time  that  every  one  who  wished  to  become  an  edu- 
cated man  studied  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Eome.  Even 
women  took  to  the  study.  Lady  Jane  Grey  was  a  good  Greek 
and  Latin  scholar;  and  so  was  Queen  Elizabeth.  Erom  this 
time  began  an  enormous  importation  of  Latin  words  into  our 
language.  Being  imported  by  the  eye  and  the  pen,  they  suffered 
little  or  no  change ;  the  spirit  of  the  people  did  not  influence 
them  in  the  least — neither  the  organs  of  speech  nor  the  ear 
affected  either  the  pronunciation  or  the  spelling  of  them.  If  we 
look  down  the  columns  of  any  English  dictionary,  we  shall  find 
these  later  Latin  words  in  hundreds.  Ojnnionem  became 
opinion;  factionem,  faction;  orationem,  oration;  pungentem 
passed  over  in  the  form  of  pungent  (though  we  had  p)oignant 
already  from  the  French) ;  jpcmperem  came  in  as  pauper ;  and 
separatum  became  separate. 

38.  Latin  of  the  Fourth  Period.  —  (ii)  This  went  on  to 
Buch  an  extent  in  the  sixteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  that  one  writer  says  of  those  who  spoke 
and  wrote  this  Latinised  English,  "  If  some  of  their  mothers 
were  alive,  they  were  not  able  to  tell  what  they  say."  And 
Sir  Thomas  Browne  (1605-1682)  remarks:  "If  elegancy 
(=  the  use  of  Latin  words)  still  proceedeth,  and  English 
pens  maintain  that  stream  we  have  of  late  observed  to  flow 
from  many,  we  shall,  within  a  few  years,  be  fain  to  learn  Latin 
to  understand  English,  and  a  work  will  prove  of  equal  facility 
in  either."  Mr  Alexander  Gill,  an  eminent  schoolmaster,  and 
the  then  head-master  of  St  Paul's  School,  where,  among  his 
other  pupils,  he  taught  John  Milton,  wrote  a  book  in  1619  on 
the  English  language ;  and,  among  other  remarks,  he  says  :  "  0 
harsh  lips !  I  now  hear  all  around  me  such  words  as  common^ 
vices,  envy,  malice  ;  even  virtue,  study,  justice,  pity,  mercy,  comr 
passion,  profit,  commodity,  colour,  grace,  favour,  acceptance. 
But  whither,  I  pray,  in  all  the  world,  have  you  banished  those 
words  which  our  forefathers  used  for  these  new-fangl6<5  onesi 


VOCABULARY   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE.  307 

Are  our  words  to  be  executed  like  our  citizens  1 "  And  he  calls 
this  fashion  of  using  Latin  v/ords  "  the  new  mange  in  our  speak- 
ing and  writing."  But  the  fashion  went  on  growing ;  and  even 
uneducated  people  thought  it  a  clever  thing  to  use  a  Latin 
instead  of  a  good  English  word.  Samuel  Eowlands,  a  writer  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  ridicules  this  affectation  in  a  few  lines 
of  verse.  He  pretend r  that  he  was  out  walking  on  the  highroad, 
and  met  a  countryman  who  wanted  to  know  what  o'clock  it  was, 
and  whether  he  was  on  the  right  way  to  the  town  or  village  he 
was  making  for.  The  writer  saw  at  once  that  he  was  a  simple 
bumpkin;  and,  when  he  heard  that  he  had  lost  his  way,  he 
turned  up  his  nose  at  the  poor  fellow,  and  ordered  him  to  be  off 
at  once.     Here  are  the  lines  : — 

"  As  on  the  way  I  itinerated, 
A  rural  person  I  obviated, 
Interrogating  time's  transitation, 
And  of  the  passage  demonstration. 
My  apprehension  did  ingenious  scan 
That  he  was  merely  a  simplician  ; 
So,  when  I  saw  he  was  extravagant, 
Unto  tlie  obscure  vulgar  consond,nt, 
I  bade  him  vanish  most  promiscuously, 
And  not  contaminate  my  company." 

39.  Latin  of  the  Fourth  Period. — (iii)  What  happened  in  the 
case  of  the  Norman-French  contribution,  hajDpened  also  in  this. 
The  language  became  saturated  with  these  new  Latin  words, 
until  it  became  satiated,  then,  as  it  were,  disgusted,  and  would 
take  no  more.     Hundreds  of 

"  Long- tailed  words  in  osity  and  ation" 

crowded  into  the  English  language;  but  many  of  them  were 
doomed  to  speedy  expulsion.  Thus  words  like  discerptihility, 
supervacaneoiisness,  septentrionalitij,  ludihundness  (love  of  sport), 
came  in  in  crowds.  The  verb  intenerate  tried  to  turn  out  soften  ; 
and  deturpate  to  take  the  place  of  defile.  But  good  writers,  like 
Bacon  and  Ealeigh,  took  care  to  avoid  the  use  of  such  terms, 
and  to  employ  only  those  Latin  words  which  gave  them  the 
power  to  indicate  a  new  idea — a  new  meaning  or  a  new  shade 


308  HISTORY   OF   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

of  meaning.  And  when  we  come  to  the  eighteenth  century,  we 
find  that  a  writer  like  Addison  would  have  shuddered  at  the 
very  mention  of  such  "  inkhorn  terms." 

40.  Eye-Latin  and  Ear-Latin. — (i)  One  slight  influence  pro- 
duced by  this  spread  of  devotion  to  classical  Latin — to  the  Latin 
of  Cicero  and  Livy,  of  Horace  and  Yirgil — was  to  alter  the 
spelling  of  French  words.  We  had  already  received — through 
the  ear — the  French  words  assaute,  aventure,  defaut,  dette,  vitaille, 
and  others.  But  Avhen  our  scholars  became  accustomed  to  the 
book-form  of  these  words  in  Latin  books,  they  gradually  altered 
them — for  the  eye  and  ear — into  assaidt,  adventure^  default., 
debt,  and  victucds.  They  went  further.  A  large  number  of 
Latin  words  that  already  existed  in  the  language  in  their 
Norman-French  form  (for  we  must  not  forget  that  French  is 
Latin  "with  the  ends  bitten  off  "-—changed  by  being  spoken 
peculiarly  and  heard  imperfectly)  were  reintroduced  in  their 
original  Latin  form.  Thus  w^e  had  caitiff  from  the  !N^ormans; 
but  we  reintroduced  it  in  the  shape  of  captive,  which  comes 
alrpost  unaltered  from  the  Latin  caj)tivmn.  Feat  we  had  from 
the  Normans;  but  the  Latin /«c^ww2,  which  provided  the  word, 
presented  us  with  a  second  form  of  it  in  the  word  fact.  Such 
T/ords  might  be  called  Ear-Latin  and  Eye-Latin ;  Mouth- 
Latin  and  Book-Latin  ;  Spoken  Latin  and  "Written  Latin ; 
or  Latin  at  second-hand  and  Latin  at  first-hand. 

41.  Eye-Latin  and  Ear-Latin. — (ii)  This  coming  in  of  the 
same  word  by  two  different  doors — by  the  E^^e  and  by  the  Ear — 
has  given  rise  to  the  phenomenon  of  Doublets.  The  following 
is  a  list  of  Latin  Doublets ;  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  Latin  ^ 
stands  for  Latin  at  first-hand — from  books ;  and  Latin  ^  for 
Latin  at  second-hand — through  the  Norman-French. 

Latin  Doublets  or  Duplicates. 


Latin. 

LATm  ^. 

Latdt*. 

Antecessorem 

Antecessor 

Ancestor. 

Benedictionem 

Benediction 

Benison. 

Cadentia  (Low  Lat.  nouu) 

Cadence 

Chance. 

Captivum 

Captire 

Caitiff. 

VOCABULARY   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


309 


Conceptionem 

Conception 

Conceit. 

Consuetudinem 

Consuetude 

/Custom. 
\  Costume. 

Cophinum 

Coffin 

Coffer. 

Corpus  (a  body) 

Corpse 

Corps. 

Debitum  (something  owed) 

Debit 

Debt. 

Defectum  (something  wanting) 

Defect 

Defeat. 

Dilatare 

Dilate 

Delay. 

Exemplum 

Example 

Sample. 

Fabrica  (a  workshop) 

Fabric 

Forge. 

Factionem 

Faction 

Fashion. 

Factum 

Fact 

Feat. 

FideHtatem 

Fidelity 

Fealty. 

Fragilem 

Fragile 

Frail. 

Gentdis  (belonging  to  a  gens  or 

Gentile 

Gentle. 

family) 

Historia 

History 

Story. 

Hospitale 

Hospital 

Hotel. 

Lectionem 

Lection 

Lesson. 

Legalem 

Legal 

LoyaL 

Magister 

Master 

Mr. 

Majorem  (greater) 

Major 

Mayor. 

Maledictiouem 

Malediction 

Malison. 

Moneta 

Mint 

Money. 

Nutrimentum 

Nutriment 

Nourishment. 

Orationem 

Oration 

Orison  (a  prayer). 

Paganum  (a  dweller  in  a  pagus 

Pagan 

Payne  (a   proper 

or  country  district) 

name). 

Particulam  (a  little  part) 

Particle 

Parcel. 

Pauperem 

Pauper 

Poor. 

Penitentiam 

Penitence 

Penance. 

Persecutum 

Persecute 

Pursue. 

Potionem  (a  draught) 

Potion 

Poison. 

Pungentem 

Pungent 

Poignant. 

Quietum 

Quiet 

Coy. 

Radius 

Radius 

Ray. 

Regalem 

Regal 

Royal. 

Respectum 

Respect 

Respite. 

Securum 

Secure 

Sure. 

Seniorem 

Senior 

Sir. 

Separatum 

Separate 

Sever. 

Species 

Species 

Spice. 

Statum 

State 

Estate. 

Tr  actum 

Tract 

Trait. 

Traditionem 

Tradition 

Treason. 

Zelosum 

Zealous 

Jealou^j. 

310  HISTORY   OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

42.  Remarks  on  the  above  Table. — The  word  benison,  a 
blessing,  may  be  contrasted  with  its  opposite,  malison,  a  curse. 
— Cadence  is  the  falling  of  sounds ;  chance  the  befalling  of 
events. — A  caitiff  was  at  first  a  cajytive — then  a  person  who 
made  no  proper  defence,  but  alloioed  himself  to  be  taken  captive. 
— A  corps  is  a  body  of  troops. — The  word  sample  is  found,  in 
older  English,  in  the  form  of  ensample. — A  feat  of  arms  is  a 
deed  or  fact  of  arms,  pa?*  excellence. — To  understand  how  fragile 
became  frail,  we  must  pronounce  the  g  hard,  and  notice  how 
the  hard  guttural  falls  easily  away — as  in  our  own  native  words 
nail  and  hail,  which  formerly  contained  a  hard  g, — A  major  is 
a  greater  captain ;  a  mayor  is  a  greater  magistrate. — A  magister 
means  a  higger  man — as  opposed  to  a  minister  (from  minus),  a 
smaller  mam — Moneta  was  the  name  given  to  a  stamped  coin, 
because  these  coins  were  first  struck  in  the  temple  of  Juno 
Moneta,  Juno  the  Adviser  or  the  Warner.  (From  the  same 
root — mon — come  monition,  admonition;  monitor;  admonish.) 
— Shakespeare  uses  the  word  orison  freely  for  praijer,  as  in  the 
address  of  Hamlet  to  Ophelia,  where  he  says,  "ISTymph,  in  thy 
orisons,  be  all  my  sins  remembered  !  " — Poor  comes  to  us  from 
an  Old  French  word  ^jx??^ re  /  the  newer  French  is  pauvre. — To 
understand  the  vanishing  of  the  g  sound  in  poignant,  we  must 
remember  that  the  Romans  sounded  it  always  hard. — Sever  we 
get  through  separate,  because  p  and  v  are  both  labials,  and 
therefore  easily  interchangeable. — Treason — with  its  s  instead 
of  ti — may  be  compared  with  benison,  malison,  orison,  poison, 
and  reason. 

43.  Conclusions  from  the  above  Table. — If  we  examine  the 
table  on  page  231  with  care,  we  shall  come  to  several  undeniable 
conclusions.  (i)  First,  the  words  which  come  to  us  direct 
from  Latin  are  found  more  in  books  than  in  everyday  speech, 
(ii)  Secondly,  they  are  longer.  The  reason  is  that  the  words 
that  have  come  through  French  have  been  worn  down  by  the 
careless  pronunciation  of  many  generations — by  that  desire  for 
ease  in  the  pronouncing  of  words  which  characterises  all 
languages,  and  have  at  last  been  compelled  to  take  that  form 
which  was  least  difficult  to  pronounce,     (iii)  Thirdly,  the  two 


VOCABULARY   OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  311 

sets  of  words  have,  in  each  case,  either  (a)  very  different 
meanings,  or  (h)  different  shades  of  meaning.  There  is  no  Hke- 
ness  of  meaning  in  cadence  and  chance,  except  the  common 
meaning  oifall  which  belongs  to  the  root  from  which  they  both 
spring.  And  the  different  shades  of  meaning  between  history 
and  story,  between  regal  and  royal,  between  persecute  and 
pursue,  are  also  quite  plainly  marked,  and  are  of  the  greatest 
use  in  composition. 

44.  Latin  Triplets. — Still  more  remarkable  is  the  fact  that 
there  are  in  our  language  words  that  have  made  three  appear- 
ances— one  through  Latin,  one  through  Norman-French,  and 
one  through  ordinary  French.  These  seem  to  live  quietly  side 
by  side  in  the  language ;  and  no  one  asks  by  what  claim  they 
are  here.  They  are  useful :  that  is  enough.  These  triplets  are — 
regal,  royal,  and  real ;  legal,  loyal,  and  leal ;  fidelity,  faith- 
fulness,^ and  fealty.  The  adjective  real  we  no  longer  possess 
in  the  sense  of  royal,  but  Chaucer  uses  it;  and  it  still  exists 
in  the  noun  real-m.  Leal  is  most  used  in  Scotland,  where  it 
has  a  settled  abode  in  the  well-known  phrase  "  the  land  o'  the 
leal." 

45.  Greek  Doublets. — The  same  double  introduction,  which 
we  noticed  in  the  case  of  Latin  words,  takes  place  in  regard  to 
Greek  words.  It  seems  to  have  been  forgotten  that  our  English 
forms  of  them  had  been  already  given  us  by  St  Augustine  and 
the  Church,  and  a  newer  form  of  each  was  reintroduced.  The 
following  are  a  few  examples  : — 


Greek. 

Older  Form. 

Later  Form. 

Adamanta  ^  (the  untameable) 

Diamond 

Adamant. 

Balsamon 

Balm 

Balsam. 

Blasphemein  (to  speak  ill  of) 

Blame 

Blaspheme. 

Cheirourgon  ^  (a  worker  with 

Chirurgeon 

Surgeon. 

the  hand) 

1  The  word  faith  is  a  true  French  word  with  an  English  ending— the  end- 
ing th.  Hence  it  is  a  hybrid.  The  old  French  word  was  fei — from  the  Latin 
fidem, ;  and  the  ending  th  was  added  to  make  it  look  more  like  truth,  wealth, 
healthy  and  other  purely  English  words. 

2  The  accusative  or  objective  case  is  given  in  all  these  words. 


812  HISTORY   OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


Dacttllon  (a  finger) 

Date  (the  fruit) 

DactyL 

Phantasia 

Fancy- 

Phantasy. 

Phantasma  (an  appearance) 

Phantom 

Phantasm, 

Presbuteron  (an  elder) 

Priest 

Presbyter. 

Paralysis 

Palsy 

Paralysis. 

Scandaion 

Slander 

Scandal. 

It  may  be  remarked  of  the  word  fancyj  that,  in  Shakespeare's 
time,  it  meant  love  or  imagination — • 

"  Tell  me,  where  is  fancy  bred, 
Or  in  the  heart,  or  in  the  head  ?  " 

It  is  now  restricted  to  mean  a  lighter  and  less  serious  kind  of 
imagination.  Thus  we  say  that  Milton's  'Paradise  Lost'  is 
a  work  of  imagination ;  but  that  Moore's  '  Lalla  Rookh '  is  a 
product  of  the  poet's  fancy. 

46.  Characteristics  of  the  Two  Elements  of  English. — If 
we  keep  our  attention  fixed  on  the  two  chief  elements  in  our 
languaofe — the  Eno^lish  element  and  the  Latin  element — the 
Teutonic  and  the  Romance — we  shall  find  some  striking  qualities 
manifest  themselves.  We  have  already  said  that  whole  sentences 
can  be  made  containing  only  English  words,  while  it  is  impossible 
to  do  this  with  Latin  or  other  foreign  words.  Let  us  take  two 
passages  —  one  from  a  daily  newspaper,  and  the  other  from 
Shakespeare  : — 

(i)  "We  find  the  functions  of  such  an  official  defined  in  the  Act.  He 
is  to  be  a  legally  qualified  medical  practitioner  of  skill  and  experience,  to 
inspect  and  report  periodically  on  the  sanitary  condition  of  town  or  dis- 
trict ;  to  ascertain  the  existence  of  diseases,  more  especially  epidemics 
increasing  the  rates  of  mortality,  and  to  'point  out  the  existence  of  any 
nuisances  or  other  local  causes,  which  are  likely  to  originate  and  maintain 
such  diseases,  and  injuriously  affect  the  health  of  the  inhabitants  of  such 
town  or  district ;  to  take  cognisance  of  the  existence  of  any  contagioua 
disease,  and  to  point  out  the  most  efficacious  means  for  the  ventilation  of 
chapels,  schools,  registered  lodging-houses,  and  other  public  buildings." 

In  this  passage,  all  the  words  in  italics  are  either  Latin  or 
Greek.  But,  if  the  purely  English  words  were  left  out,  the 
sentence  would  fall  into  ruins — would  become  a  mere  rubbish- 
heap  of  words.     It  is  the  small  particles   that  give  life   and 


VOCABULARY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  313 

motion  to  each  sentence.  They  are  the  joints  and  hinges  on 
which  the  whole  sentence  moves. — Let  us  now  look  at  a  passage 
from  Shakespeare.  It  is  from  the  speech  of  Macbeth,  after  he 
has  made  up  his  mind  to  murder  Duncan  : — 

(ii)  "  Go  bid  thy  mistress,  when  my  drink  is  ready, 
She  strike  upon  the  bell.     Get  thee  to  bed  ! — 
Is  this  a  dagger  which  I  see  before  me, 
The  handle  toward  my  hand  ?     Come  !  let  me  clutch  thee  ! 
— I  have  thee  not ;  and  yet  I  see  thee  still." 

In  this  passage  there  is  only  one  Latin  (or  French)  word — the 
word  mistress.  If  Shakespeare  had  used  the  word  lady,  the 
passage  would  have  been  entirely  English. — The  passage  from 
the  newspaper  deals  with  large  generalisations ;  that  from 
Shakespeare  with  individual  acts  and  feelings — with  things 
that  come  home  ''to  the  business  and  bosom"  of  man  as  man. 
Every  master  of  the  English  language  understands  well  the  art 
of  mingling  the  two  elements — so  as  to  obtain  a  fine  effect ;  and 
none  better  than  writers  like  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Gray,  and 
Tennyson.     Shakespeare  makes  Antony  say  of  Cleopatra : — 

"  Age  cannot  wither  her  ;  nor  custom  stale 
Her  infinite  variety." 

Here  the  French  (or  Latin)  words  custom  and  variety  form  a 

vivid  contrast  to  the  English  verb  stale,  throw  up  its  meaning 

and  colour,  and  give  it  greater  prominence. — Milton  makes  Eve 

say  :— 

"  I  thither  went 
With  inexperienc'd  thought,  and  laid  me  down 
On  the  green  bank,  to  look  into  the  clear 
Smooth  lake,  that  to  me  seem'd  another  sky." 

Here  the  words  inexperienced  and  clear  give  variety  to  the  same- 
ness of  the  English  words. — Gray,  in  the  Elegy,  has  this  verse: — 

"  The  breezy  call  of  incense-breathing  morn, 

The  swallow  twittering  from  the  straw-built  shed, 
The  cock's  shrill  clarion  or  the  echoing  horn, 

No  more  shall  rouse  them  from  their  lowly  bed." 


314  HISTORY   OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

Here  incense,  clarloUy  and  echoing  give  a  vivid  colouring  to  the 
plainer  hues  of  the  homely  English  phrases. — Tennyson,  in  the 
Lotos-Eaters,  vi.,  writes  : — 

"  Dear  is  the  memory  of  our  wedded  lives, 
And  dear  the  last  embraces  of  our  wives 
And  their  warm  tears  :  but  all  hath  suffered  change ; 
For  surely  now  our  household  hearths  are  cold : 
Our  sons  inherit  us  :  our  looks  are  strange  : 
And  we  should  come  like  ghosts  to  trouble  joy." 

Most  powerful  is  the  introduction  of  the  French  words  suffered 
change,  inherit,  strange,  and  trouble  joy ;  for  they  give  with 
painful  force  the  contrast  of  the  present  state  of  desolation  with 
the  homely  rest  and  happiness  of  the  old  abode,  the  love  of  the 
loving  wives,  the  faithfulness  of  the  stalwart  sons. 

47.  English  and  other  Doublets. — We  have  already  seen 
how,  by  the  presentation  of  the  same  word  at  two  different 
doors — the  door  of  Latin  and  the  door  of  French — we  are  in 
possession  of  a  considerable  number  of  doublets.  But  this 
phenomenon  is  not  limited  to  Latin  and  French — is  not  solely 
due  to  the  contributions  we  receive  from  these  languages.  We 
find  it  also  within  English  itself;  and  causes  of  the  most 
different  description  bring  about  the  same  results.  For  various 
reasons,  the  English  language  is  very  rich  in  doublets.  It 
possesses  nearly  five  hundred  pairs  of  such  words.  The  language 
is  all  the  richer  for  having  them,  as  it  is  thereby  enabled  to 
give  fuller  and  clearer  expression  to  the  different  shades  and 
delicate  varieties  of  meaning  in  the  mind. 

48.  The  sources  of  doublets  are  various.  But  five  different 
causes  seem  chiefly  to  have  operated  in  producing  them.  They 
are  due  to  differences  of  pronunciation ;  to  differences  in  spel- 
ling ;  to  contractions  for  convenience  in  daily  speech ;  to 
differences  in  dialects  ;  and  to  the  fact  that  many  of  them  come 
from  different  languages.  Let  us  look  at  a  few  examples  of 
each.  At  bottom,  however,  aU  these  differences  will  be  found 
to  resolve  themselves  into  differences  of  pronunciation.  They 
are  either  differences  in  the  pronunciation  of  the  same  word  by 


VOCABULAKY  OF   THE   EXGLTSH  LANGUAGE.  315 

different  tribes,   or  by  men  in  different  counties,  who  speak 
different  dialects ;  or  by  men  of  different  nations. 

49.  Differences  in  Pronunciation. — From  this  source  we 
have  parson  and  person  (the  parson  being  the  pet'son  or  repre- 
sentative of  the  Church) ;  sop  and  soup  ;  task  and  tax  (the  sk 
has  here  become  ks) ;  thread  and  thrid ;  ticket  and  etiquette  ; 
sauce  and  souse  (to  steep  in  brine) ;  squall  and  squeal. 

50.  Differences  in  Spelling. — To  and  too  are  the  same  word 
— one  being  used  as  a  preposition,  the  other  as  an  adverb  ;  of 
and  off,  from  and  fro,  are  only  different  spellings,  which  repre- 
sent different  functions  or  uses  of  the  same  word ;  onion  and 
union  are  the  same  word.  An  union  ^  comes  from  the  Latin 
unus,  one,  and  it  meant  a  large  single  pearl — a  unique  jewel ; 
the  word  was  then  applied  to  the  plant,  the  head  of  which  is  of 
a  pearl-shape. 

51.  Contractions. — Contraction  has  been  a  pretty  fruitful  source 
of  doublets  in  English.  A  long  word  has  a  syllable  or  two  cut  off ; 
or  two  or  three  are  compressed  into  one.  Thus  example  has 
become  sample ;  alone  appears  also  as  lone ;  amend  has  been 
shortened  into  mend ;  defend  has  been  cut  down  into  fend  (as 
in  fender);  manoeuvre  has  been  contracted  into  manure  (both 
meaning  originally  to  work  ivitli  the  hand) ;  madam  becomes  'm 
in  yes  'm  ^ ;  and  presbyter  has  been  squeezed  down  into  priest.^ 
Other  examples  of  contraction  are  :  capital  and  cattle ;  chirur- 
geon  (a  worker  with  the  hand)  and  surgeon;  cholera  and 
choler  (from  cholos,  the  Greek  word  for  bile) ;  disport  and 
sport ;  estate  and  state ;  esquire  and  squire ;  Egyptian  and 

In  Hamlet  v.  2.  283,  Shakespeare  makes  the  King  say — 

"  The  King  shall  drink  to  Hamlet's  better  breath  ; 
And  in  the  cup  an  union  shall  he  throw." 

2  Professor  Max  Muller  gives  this  as  the  most  remarkable  instance  of 
cntting  down.  The  Latin  mea  domina  became  in  French  madaw.c ;  in 
English  ma'am;   and,  in  the  language  of  servants,  'm. 

8  Milton  says,  in  one  of  his  sonnets — 

"  New  Presbyter  is  but  old  Priest  writ  large." 

From  the  etymological  point  of  view,   the  truth  is  just  the  other  way 
about.     Priest  is  old  Presbyter  writ  small. 


316  HISTORY   OF   THE  EXGLISII   LANGUAGE. 

gipsy ;  emmet  and  ant ;  gam.mon  and  game ;  grandfather 
and  gaffer ;  grandmother  and  gammer ;  iota  (the  Greek 
letter  i)  and  jot ;  maximum  and  maxim ;  mobile  and  mob ; 
mosquito  and  musket ;  papa  and  pope ;  periwig  and  wig ; 
poesy  and  posy ;  procurator  and  proctor ;  shallop  and 
sloop ;  unity  and  unit.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  above 
pairs  of  words,  although  in  reality  one,  have  very  different 
meanings  and  uses. 

52.  Difference  of  English  Dialects.  —  Another  source  of 
doublets  is  to  be  found  in  the  dialects  of  the  English  language. 
Almost  every:  county  in  England  has  its  own  dialect ;  but  three 
main  dialects  st9,nd  out  with  great  prominence  in  crur  older 
literature,  and  these  aTe-the'  Northern,  the  Midland,  and  the 
Southern.  The  grammar  of  these  dialects  was  different ;  their 
pronunciation  of  words  was  different — and  this  has  given  rise  to 
a  splitting  of  one  word  into  two.  In  the  ^Xorth,  we  find  a  hard 
c,  as  in  the  caster  of  Lancaster ;  in  the  jMidlands,  a  soft  c,  as 
in  Leicester  ;  in  the  South,  a  ch,  as  in  "Winchester.  We  shall 
find  similar  differences  of  hardness  and  softness  in  ordinary 
words.  Thus  we  find  kirk  and  church ;  canker  and  cancer ; 
canal  and  channel ;  deck  and  thatch ;  drill  and  thrill ;  fan 
and  van  (in  a  winnowing-machine) ;  fitch  and  vetch ;  hale  and 
whole ;  mash  and  mess ;  naught,  nought,  and  not ;  pike, 
peak,  and  beak ;  poke  and  pouch ;  quid  (a  piece  of  tobacco  for 
chewing)  and  cud  (which  means  the  thing  cTiewed) ;  reave 
and  rob ;  ridge  and  rig ;  scabby  and  shabby ;  scar  and 
share ;  screech  and  shriek ;  shirt  and  skirt ;  shuffle  and 
scuffle  ;  spray  and  sprig  ;  wain  and  waggon — and  other  pairs. 
All  of  these  are  but  different  modes  of  pronouncing  the  same 
word  in  different  parts  of  England;  but  the  genius  of  the 
language  has  taken  advantage  of  these  different  ways  of  pro- 
nouncing to  make  different  words  out  of  them,  and  to  give 
them  different  functions,  meanings,  and  uses. 


s  CHAPTER    III. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    GRAMMAR    OF    ENGLISH. 

1.  The  Oldest  English  Synthetic. — The  oldest  English,  or 
Anglo-Saxon,  that  was  brought  over  here  in  the  fifth  century, 
was  a  language  that  showed  the  relations  of  words  to  each  other 
by  adding  different  endings  to  words,  or  by  synthesis.  These 
endings  are  called  inflexions.  Latin  and  Greek  are  highly 
inflected  languages;  French  and  German  have  many  more 
inflexions  than  modern  English ;  and  Old  English  (or  Anglo- 
Saxon)  also  possessed  a  large  number  of  inflexions. 

2.  Modern  English  Analytic. — Wlien,  instead  of  inflexions, 
a  language  employs  small  particles — such  as  prepositions,  auxil- 
iary verbs,  and  suchlike  words  —  to  express  the  relations  of 
words  to  each  other,  such  a  language  is  called  analytic  or  non- 
inflexional.  When  we  say,  as  we  used  to  say  in  the  oldest 
English,  "  God  is  ealra  cyninga  cyning,"  we  speak  a  synthetic 
language.  But  when  we  say,  "God  is  king  0/ all  kings,"  then 
we  employ  an  analytic  or  uninflected  language, 

3.  Short  View  of  the  History  of  English  Grammar. — From 
the  time  when  the  English  language  came  over  to  this  island,  it 
has  grown  steadily  in  the  number  of  its  words.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  has  lost  just  as  steadily  in  the  number  of  its  inflexions. 
Put  in  a  broad  and  somewhat  rough  fashion,  it  may  be  said 
that — 

(i)  Up  to  about   1100 — one  generation  after  the  Battle  of  Senlac 
— tlie  Englisli  language  was  a  Synthetic  Language. 


318  HISTORY   OF   THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

(ii)  From  the  year  1100  or  thereabouts,  English  has  been  losing  Its 
inflexions,  and  gradually  becoming  more  and  more  an  Analytic 
Language. 

4.  Causes  of  tMs  Change. — Even  before  the  coming  of  the 
Danes  and  the  Kormans,  the  English  people  had  shown  a 
tendency  to  get  rid  of  some  of  their  inflexions.  A  similar 
tendency  can  he  observed  at  the  present  time  among  the 
Germans  of  the  Ehine  Province,  who  often  drojD  an  n  at  the  end 
of  a  word,  and  show  in  other  respects  a  carelessness  about  gram- 
mar. Eut,  when  a  foreign  people  comes  among  natives,  such  a 
tendency  is  naturally  encouraged,  and  often  greatly  increased^ 
The  natives  discover  that  these  inflexions  are  not  so  very 
important,  if  only  they  can  get  their  meaning  rightly  conveyed 
to  the  foreigners.  Eoth  parties,  accordingly,  come  to  see  that 
the  root  of  the  word  is  the  most  important  element ;  they  stick 
to  that,  and  they  come  to  neglect  the  mere  inflexions.  More- 
over, the  accent  in  English  words  always  struck  the  root ;  and 
hence  this  part  of  the  word  always  fell  on  the  ear  with  the 
greater  force,  and  carried  the  greater  w^eight.  When  the  Danes 
— who  spoke  a  cognate  language — began  to  settle  in  England, 
the  tendency  to  drop  inflexions  increased ;  but  when  the  Isior- 
mans — who  spoke  an  entirely  diff"erent  language — came,  the 
tendency  increased  enormously,  and  the  inflexions  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  began  to  "  fall  as  the  leaves  fall "  in  the  dry  wind  of  a 
frosty  October.  Let  us  try  to  trace  some  of  the«e  changes  and 
losses. 

5.  Grammar  of  the  First  Period,  450-1100. — The  English  of 
this  period  is  called  Old  English  or  Anglo-Saxon.  The 
gender  of  nouns  was  arbitrary,  or — it  may  be — poetical ;  it 
did  not,  as  in  modern  English  it  does,  follow  the  sex.  Thus 
nama,  a  name,  was  masculine  ;  tunge,  a  tongue,  feminine ; 
and  eage,  an  eye,  neuter.  Like  nama,  the  proper  names  of 
men  ended  in  a ;  and  we  find  such  names  as  Ida,  Ofi'a,  Penda, 
as  the  names  of  kings.  Nouns  at  this  period  had  four  cases, 
with  inflexions  for  each  ;  now  we  possess  but  one  inflexion — 
that  for  the  possessive.  —  Even  the  definite  article  was  in- 
flected.— The  infinitive  of  verbs  ended  in  an ;  and  the  sign 
tOj  now  generally  employed  to  mark  that  mood,  was  not  in 


HISTORY  OF  THE   GRAMMAR  OF  ENGLISH.  319 

use,  except  for  the  dative  of  the  infinitive.  This  dative  in- 
finitive is  still  preserved  in  such  phrases  as  "  a  house  to  let ; " 
"bread  to  eat;"  "water  to  drink."  —  The  present  participle 
ended  in  ende  (in  the  North  ande).  This  participle  in  time 
dropped  its  own  termination  and  accepted  ing  from  the  verbal 
noun,  to  which  (under  the  modern  name  of  gerund)  it  com- 
municated some  of  its  own  syntactical  peculiarities.  —  The 
plural  of  the  present  indicative  ended  in  ath  for  all  three 
persons.  ^In  the  past  tense,  the  plural  ending  was  on. — There 
was  no  future  tense  ;  the  work  of  the  future  was  done  by 
the  present  tense.  Fragments  of  this  usage  still  survive  in 
the  language,  as  when  we  say,  "He  goes  up  to  town  next 
week." — Prepositions  governed  various  cases ;  and  not  always 
the  objective  (or  accusative),   as  they  do  now. 

6.  Grammar  of  the  Second  Period,  1100-1250.— The  English 
of  this  period  is  called  Early  English.  Even  before  the  coming 
of  the  l!«y^ormans,  the  inflexions  of  our  language  had — as  we  have 
seen — begun  to  drop  off,  and  it  was  slowly  on  the  way  to  becom- 
ing an  analytic  language.  The  same  changes — the  same  simpli- 
fication of  grammar,  has  taken  place  in  nearly  every  Low 
German  language.  But  the  coming  of  the  Normans  hastened 
these  changes,  for  it  made  the  inflexional  endings  of  words  of 
much  less  practical  importance  to  the  English  themselves. — Great 
changes  took  place  in  the  pronunciation  also.  The  hard  c  or  k 
was  often  softened  into  ch. ;  and  the  hard  guttural  g  grew  into 
a  y  or  even  into  a  silent  w. — A  remarkable  addition  was  made 
to  the  language.  The  Oldest  English  or  Anglo-Saxon  had  no 
indefinite  article.  They  said  ofer  stein  for  on  a  rock.  But,  as 
the  French  have  made  the  article  un  out  of  the  Latin  unus,  so 
the  English  pared  down  the  northern  ane  ( =  one)  into  the 
article  an  or  a.  The  Anglo-Saxon  definite  article  was  se,  seo, 
J^aet ;  and  in  the  grammar  of  this  Second  Period  it  became  Jje, 
l^eo,  J^e. — The  plural  in  as  took  the  place  of  the  older  English 
plural  in  en.  But  housen  and  shoon  existed  for  many  centuries 
after  the  Norman  coming ;  and  Mr  Barnes,  the  Dorsetshire 
poet,  still  deplores  the  ugly  sound  of  nests  and  fists,  and  would 
like  to  be  able  to  say  and  to  write  nesten  and  fisten. — The  dative 
plural,  which  ended  in  um,  becomes  an  e  or  an  en.     The  um. 


320  HISTOEY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

however,  still  exists  in  the  form  of  cm  in  seldom  (  =  at  few 
times)  and  whilora  (  =  in  old  times). — The  gender  of  nouns  falls 
into  confusion,  and  begins  to  show  a  tendency  to  follow  the  sex. 
— Adjectives  show  a  tendency  to  drop  several  of  their  inflexions, 
and  to  become  as  serviceable  and  accommodating  as  they  are 
now — when  they  are  the  same  with  all  numbers,  genders,  and 
cases. — The  an  of  the  infinitive  becomes  en,  and  sometimes 
even  the  n  is  dropped. — Shall  and  will  begin  to  be  used  as 
tense-auxiliaries  for  the  future  tense. 

7.  Grammar  of  the  Third  Period,  1250-1350. — The  English  of 
this  period  is  often  called  Middle  English. — The  definite  article 
still  preserves  a  few  inflexions. — Nouns  that  were  once  masculine 
or  feminine  become  neuter,  for  the  sake  of  convenience. — The 
possessive  in  es  becomes  general. — Adjectives  make  their  plural 
in  e. — The  infinitive  now  takes  to  before  it — except  after  a  few 
verbs,  like  hid,  see,  hear,  etc. — The  present  participle  in  inge 
makes  its  appearance  about  the  year  1300. 

8.  Grammar  of  the  Fourth  Period,  1350-1485. — This  may  be 
called  Later  Middle  English.  An  old  writer  of  the  fourteenth 
century  points  out  that,  in  his  time — and  before  it — the  English 
language  was  "  a-deled  a  thre,"  divided  into  three ;  that  is,  that 
there  were  three  main  dialects,  the  Worthern,  the  Midland, 
and  the  Southern.  There  were  many  differences  in  the  grammar 
of  these  dialects ;  but  the  chief  of  these  diff'erences  is  found  in 
the  plural  of  the  present  indicative  of  the  verb.  This  part  of 
the  verb  formed  its  plurals  in  the  following  manner : — 

Northern.  Midland.  Southern. 

"We  hopes  "VVe  hopen  We  hopeth. 

You  hopes  You  hopen  You  hopeth. 

They  hopes  They  hopen  They  hopeth.^ 

In  time  the  Midland  dialect  conquered ;  and  the  East  Midland 
form  of  it  became  predominant  all  over  England.  As  early  as 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  this  dialect  had  thrown 
off  most  of  the  old  inflexions,  and  had  become  almost  as  flexion- 

1  This  plural  we  still  find  in  the  famous  Winchester  motto,  "Manners 
maketh  man." 


HISTORY   OF  THE   GRAMMAR   OF  ENGLISH.  321 

less  as  the  English  of  the  present  day.  Let  us  note  a  few  of 
the  more  prominent  changes. — The  first  personal  pronoun  Ic  or 
Ich  loses  the  guttural,  and  becomes  I. — The  pronouns  him, 
them,  and  whom,  which  are  true  datives,  are  used  either  as 
datives  or  as  objectives. — The  imperative  plural  ends  in  eth. 
"  Kiseth  up,"  Chaucer  makes  one  of  his  characters  say,  "  and 
stondeth  by  me  ! " — The  useful  and  almost  ubiquitous  letter  e 
comes  insas  a  substitute  for  a,  u,  and  even  an.  Thus  nam.a 
becomes  nam.e,  sunu  (son)  becomes  sune,  and  withutan  changes 
into  withute. — The  dative  of  adjectives  is  used  as  an  adverb. 
Thus  we  find  softe,  brighte  employed  like  our  softly,  brightly. 
— The  n  in  the  infinitive  has  fallen  away ;  but  the  e  is  sounded 
as  a  separate  syllable.  Thus  we  find  breke,  sm.ite  for  hreken 
and  smiten. 

9.  General  View. — In  the  time  of  King  Alfred,  the  West- 
Saxon  speech — the  Wessex  dialect — took  precedence  of  the  rest, 
and  became  the  literary  dialect  of  England.  But  it  had  not,  and 
could  not  have,  any  influence  on  the  spoken  language  of  other 
parts  of  England,  for  the  simple  reason  that  very  few  persons 
were  able,  to  travel,  and  it  took  days — and  even  weeks — for  a 
man  to  go  from  Devonshire  to  Yorkshire.  In  course  of  time 
the  Midland  dialect — that  spoken  between  the  Humber  and 
the  Thames  —  became  the  predominant  dialect  of  England ; 
and  the  East  Midland  variety  of  this  dialect  became  the 
parent  of  modern  standard  English.  This  predominance  was 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  it,  soonest  of  all,  got  rid  of  its 
inflexions,  and  became  most  easy,  pleasant,  and  convenient  to 
use.  And  this  disuse  of  inflexions  was  itself  probably  due  to 
the  early  Danish  settlements  in  the  east,  to  the  larger  number 
of  ITormans  in  that  part  of  England,  to  the  larger  number  of 
thriving  towns,  and  to  the  greater  and  more  active  communi- 
cation between  the  eastern  seaports  and  the  Continent.  The 
inflexions  were  first  confused,  then  weakened,  then  forgotten, 
finally  lost.  The  result  was  an  extreme  simplification,  which 
still  benefits  all  learners  of  the  English  language.  Instead  of 
spending  a  great  deal  of  time  on  the  learning  of  a  large  number 
of   inflexions,   which  are  to  them  arbitrary  and  meaningless, 


322  HISTOEY   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

foreigners  have  only  to  fix  tlieir  attention  on  the  words  and 
phrases  themselves,  that  is,  on  the  very  pith  and  marrow  of  the 
language — indeed,  on  the  language  itself.  Hence  the  great 
German  grammarian  Grimm,  and  others,  predict  that  English 
will  spread  itself  all  over  the  world,  and  become  the  universal 
language  of  the  future.  In  addition  to  this  almost  complete 
sweeping  away  of  all  inflexions, — which  made  Dr  Johnson  say, 
"  Sir,  the  English  language  has  no  grammar  at  all," — there  were 
other  remarkable  and  useful  results  which  accrued  from  the 
comini?  in  of  the  Xorman-French  and  other  foreijjn  elements. 

10.  Monosyllables. — The  stripping  ofl"  of  the  inflexions  of 
our  language  cut  a  large  number  of  words  down  to  the  root. 
Hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of  our  verbs  were  dissyllables,  but, 
by  the  gradual  loss  of  the  ending  en  (which  was  in  Anglo-Saxon 
an),  they  became  monosyllables.  Thus  bindan,  drincan,  find- 
an,  became  bind,  drink,  find;  and  this  happened  with  hosts 
of  other  verbs.  Again,  the  expulsion  of  the  guttural,  which 
the  ^N'ormans  never  could  or  would  take  to,  had  the  eff'ect  of 
compressing  many  words  of  two  syllables  into  one.  Thus 
hagol,  twaegen,  and  faegen,  became  hail,  twain,  and  fain. — 
In  these  and  other  ways  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the  present 
English  is  to  a  very  large  extent  of  a  monosyllabic  character.  So 
much  is  this  the  case,  that  whole  books  have  been  written  for 
children  in  monosyllables.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the  mono- 
syllabic style  is  often  dull,  but  it  is  always  serious  and  homely. 
"We  can  find  in  our  translation  of  the  Bible  whole  verses  that 
are  made  up  of  words  of  only  one  syllable.  Many  of  the  most 
powerful  passages  in  Shakespeare,  too,  are  written  in  monosylla- 
bles. The  same  may  be  said  of  hundreds  of  our  proverbs — such 
as,  "  Cats  hide  their  claws  "  ;  "  Fair  words  please  fools  "  ;  "  He 
that  has  most  time  has  none  to  lose."  Great  poets,  like  Tenny- 
son and  Matthew  Arnold,  understand  well  the  fijie  effect  to  be 
produced  from  the  mingling  of  short  and  long  words — of  the 
homely  English  with  the  more  ornate  Romance  language.  In 
the  following  verse  from  Matthew  Arnold  the  words  are  all 
monosyllables,  with  the  exception  of  tired  and  contention  (which 
is  Latin) : — 


HISTOKY   OF   THE   GRAJVII^IAR   OF   ENGLISH.  323 

"  Let  the  long  contention  cease  ; 
Geese  are  swans,  and  swans  are  gees*  ; 
Let  them  have  it  how  they  will, 
Thou  art  tired.     Best  be  still  ! " 

In  Tennyson's  "  Lord  of  Burleigh,"  when  the  sorrowful  hus- 
band comes  to  look  upon  his  dead  wife,  the  verse  runs  almost 
entirely  in  monosyllables  : — 

"  And  he  came  to  look  upon  her. 
And  he  looked  at  her,  and  said  : 
'  Bring  the  dress,  and  put  it  on  her, 
That  she  wore  when  she  was  wed.'  " 

An  American  writer  has  well  indicated  the  force  of  the  Eng- 
lish monosyllable  in  the  following  sonnet : — 

"  Think  not  that  strength  lies  in  the  big,  round  word, 

Or  that  the  brief  and  plain  must  needs  be  weak. 
To  whom  can  this  be  true  who  once  has  heard 

The  cry  for  help,  the  tongue  that  all  men  speak. 
When  want,  or  fear,  or  woe,  is  in  the  throat. 

So  that  each  word  gasped  out  is  like  a  shriek 
Pressed  from  the  sore  heart,  or  a  strange,  wild  note 

Sung  by  some  fay  or  fiend  !     There  is  a  strength, 
Which  dies  if  stretched  too  far,  or  spun  too  fine, 

Which  has  more  height  than  breadth,  more  depth  than  length; 
Let  but  this  force  of  thought  and  speech  be  mine. 

And  he  that  will  may  take  the  sleek  fat  phrase, 
Which  glows  but  burns  not,  though  it  beam  and  sliine  ; 

Light,  but  no  heat, — a  flash,  but  not  a  blaze." 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  sonnet  consists  entirely  of  mono- 
syllables, and  yet  that  the  style  of  it  shows  considerable  power 
and  vigour.  The  words  printed  in  italics  are  all  derived  from 
Latin,  with  the  exception  of  the  word  2>hrase,  which  is  Greek. 

11.  Change  in  the  Order  of  Words. — The  syntax — or  order 
of  words — of  the  oldest  English  was  very  different  from  that  of 
ISTorman-French.  The  syntax  of  an  Old  English  sentence  was 
clumsy  and  involved ;  it  kept  the  attention  long  on  the  strain ; 
it  was  rumbling,  rambling,  and  unpleasant  to  the  ear.  It  kept 
the  attention  on  the  strain,  because  the  verb  in  a  subordinate 
clause  was  held  back,  and  not  revealed  till  we  had  come  to  the 


324  HISTOKY  OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

end  of  tlie  clause.  Thus  the  Anglo-Saxon  wrote  (though  in 
different  form  and  spelling) — 

"  When  Darius  saw,  that  he  overcome  be  would." 

The  newer  English,  under  French  influence,  wrote — 

"When  Darius  saw  that  he  was  going  to  be  overcome." 

This  change  has  made  an  English  sentence  lighter  and  more 
easy  to  understand,  for  the  reader  or  hearer  is  not  kept  waiting 
for  the  verb ;  but  each  word  comes  just  when  it  is  expected, 
and  therefore  in  its  "natural "  place.  The  Old  English  sentence. 
— which  is  very  like  the  German  sentence  of  the  present  day — 
has  been  compared  to  a  heavy  cart  without  springs,  while  the 
newer  English  sentence  is  like  a  modern  well-hung  English  car- 
riage. I^orman-French,  then,  gave  us  a  brighter,  lighter,  freer 
rhythm,  and  therefore  a  sentence  more  easy  to  understand  and 
to  employ,  more  supple,  and  better  adapted  to  everyday  use. 

12.  The  Expulsion  of  Gutturals. — (i)  ^^t  only  did  the  Nor- 
mans help  us  to  an  easier  and  pleasanter  kind  of  sentence,  they 
aided  us  in  getting  rid  of  the  numerous  throat-sounds  that  in- 
fested our  language.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  there  is  not 
now  in  the  French  language  a  single  guttural.  There  is  not  an  h 
in  the  whole  language.  The  French  write  an  h  in  several  of 
their  words,  but  they  never  sound  it.  Its  use  is  merely  to  serve 
as  a  fence  between  two  vowels — to  keep  two  vowels  separate,  as 
in  la  liaine,  hatred.  JSTo  doubt  the  N'ormans  could  utter  throat- 
sounds  well  enough  when  they  dwelt  in  Scandinavia ;  but,  after 
they  had  lived  in  France  for  several  generations,  they  acquired 
a  great  dislike  to  all  such  sounds.  No  doubt,  too,  many,  from 
long  disuse,  were  unable  to  give  utterance  to  a  guttural.  This 
dislike  they  communicated  to  the  English ;  and  hence,  in  the 
present  day,  there  are  many  people — especially  in  the  south  of 
England — who  cannot  sound  a  guttural  at  all.  The  muscles  in  the 
throat  that  help  to  produce  these  sounds  have  become  atrophied 
— have  lost  their  power  for  want  of  practice.  The  purely  Eng- 
lish part  of  the  population,  for  many  centuries  after  the  Norman 
invasion,  could  sound  gutturals  ctuite  easily — ^just  as  the  Scotch 


HISTORY   OF  THE   GRAMMAR  OF  ENGLISH.  325 

and  the  Germans  do  now ;  but  it  gradually  became  the  fashion 
in  England  to  leave  them  out. 

13.  The  Expulsion  of  Gutturals. — (ii)  In  some  cases  the 
guttural  disappeared  entirely ;  in  others,  it  was  changed  into  or 
represented  by  other  sounds.  The  ge  at  the  beginning  of  the 
passive  (or  past)  participles  of  many  verbs  disappeared  entirely. 
Thus  gebroht,  geboht,  geworht,  became  brought,  bought,  and 
wrought.  The  g  at  the  beginning  of  many  words  also  dropped 
off.  Thus  Gyppenswich  became  Ipswich;  gif  became  if; 
genoh,  enough. — The  guttural  at  the  end  of  words — hard  g 
or  c — also  disappeared.  Thus  halig  became  holy;  eorthlic, 
earthly;  gastlic,  ghostly.  The  same  is  the  case  in  dough, 
through,  plough,  etc. — the  guttural  appearing  to  the  eye  but 
not  to  the  ear. — Again,  the  guttural  was  changed  into  quite 
different  sounds — into  labials,  into  sibilants,  into  other  sounds 
also.     The  following  are  a  few  examples  : — 

[a)  The  guttural  has  been  softened  into  a  palatal.  Thus 
rigge,  egge,  and  brigge  have  become  ridge,  edge,  and 
bridge. 

(h)  The  guttural  has  become  a  labial — f — as  in  cough, 
enough,  trough,  laugh,  draught,  etc. 

(c)  The  guttural  has  become  an  additional  syllable,  and  is 
represented  by  a  vowel-sound.  Thus  sorg  and  mearh  have 
become  sorrow  and  marrow. 

(d)  In  some  words  it  has  disappeared  both  to  eye  and  ear. 
Thus  maked  has  become  made. 

11  The  Letters  that  represent  Gutturals. — The  English 
guttural  has  been  quite  Protean  in  the  written  or  printed  forms 
it  takes.  It  appears  as  an  i,  as  a  y,  as  a  w,  as  a  ch,  as  a  dge, 
as  a  j,  and — in  its  more  native  forms — as  a  g,  a  k,  or  a 
gh.  The  following  words  give  all  these  forms  ;  hail,  day,  fowl, 
teach,  edge,  ajar,  drag,  truck,  and  trough.  Now  hail  was 
hagol,  day  was  daeg,  fowl  was  fiigol,  teach  was  faecan,  edge  was 
egge,  aja?'  was  achar.  In  seek,  beseech,  sought — which  are 
all  different  forms  of  the  same  word — we  see  the  guttural  appear- 
ing in  three  different  forms — as  a  hard  k,  as  a  soft  ch,  as  an  un- 
noticed gh.     In  think  and  thought,  drink  and  draught,  sly 


326  HISTORY  OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

and  sleight,  dry  and  drought,  slay  and  slaughter,  it  takes 
two  different  forms,  In  dig,  ditch,  and  dike — which  are  all 
the  same  word  in  different  shapes — it  again  takes  three  forms. 
In  fly,  flew,  and  flight,  it  appears  as  a  y,  a  w,  and  a  gh.  But, 
indeed,  the  manners  of  a  guttural,  its  ways  of  appearing  and 
disappearing,  are  almost  beyond  counting. 

15.  Grammatical  Result  of  the  Loss  of  Inflexions. — When 
we  look  at  a  Latin  or  French  or  German  word,  we  know  whether 
it  is  a  verb  or  a  noun  or  a  preposition  by  its  mere  appearance 
— by  its  face  or  by  its  dress,  so  to  speak.  But  the  loss  of 
inflexions  which  has  taken  place  in  the  English  language  has 
resulted  in  depriving  us  of  this  advantage — if  advantage  it  is. 
Instead  of  looking  at  the  face  of  a  word  in  English,  we  are 
obliged  to  think  of  its  function, — that  is,  of  what  it  does.  We 
have,  for  example,  a  large  number  of  words  that  are  both  nouns 
and  verbs — we  may  use  them  as  the  one  or  as  the  other  ;  and, 
till  we  have  used  them,  we  cannot  tell  whether  they  are  the 
one  or  the  other.  Thus,  when  we  speak  of  "a  cut  on  the  fin- 
ger," cut  is  a  noun,  because  it  is  a  name ;  but  when  we  say, 
"  Harry  cut  his  finger,"  then  cut  is  a  verb,  because  it  tells 
something  about  Harry.  Words  like  bud,  cane,  cut,  comb, 
cap,  dust,  fall,  flsh,  heap,  mind,  name,  pen,  plaster,  punt, 
run,  rush,  stone,  and  many  others,  can  be  used  either  as  nouns 
or  as  verbs.  Again,  fast,  quick,  and  hard  may  be  used  either 
as  adverbs  or  as  adjectives ;  and  back  may  be  employed  as  an 
adverb,  as  a  noun,  and  even  as  an  adjective.  Shakespeare  is 
very  daring  in  the  use  of  this  licence.  He  makes  one  of  his  char- 
acters say,  "  But  me  no  buts  !  "  In  this  sentence,  the  first  hut  is 
a  verb  in  the  imperative  mood ;  the  second  is  a  noun  in  the 
objective  case.  Shakespeare  uses  also  such  verbs  as  io  glad,  to 
mad,  such  phrases  as  a  seldom  pleasure,  and  the  fairest  she.  Dr 
Abbott  says,  "  In  Elizabethan  English,  almost  any  part  of  speech 
can  be  used  as  any  other  part  of  speech.  An  adverb  can  be  used 
as  a  verb,  '  they  askance  their  eyes '  j  as  a  noun,  '  the  backward 
and  abysm  of  time';  or  as  an  adjective,  'a  seldom  pleasure.' 
Any  noun,  adjective,  or  neuter  verb  can  be  used  as  an  active 
verb.     You  can  *  happy '  your  friend,  '  malice '  or  '  fool '  your 


HISTOEY   OF  THE   GRAMMAR   OF   ENGLISH.  327 

enemy,  or  '  fall '  an  axe  upon  his  neck."  Even  in  modern  Eng- 
lish, almost  any  noun  can  be  used  as  a  verb.  Thus  we  can  say, 
"to  paper  a  room";  "to  icater  the  horses";  "to  black-ball  a 
candidate  " ;  to  "  iron  a  shirt "  or  "  a  prisoner' ' ;  "to  toe  the  line." 
On  the  other  hand,  verbs  may  be  used  as  nouns  ;  for  we  can 
speak  of  a  woi'Jcj  of  a  beautiful  print,  of  a  long  walk,  and  so  on. 


CHAPTEE    lY. 

SPECIMENS    OF    ENGLISH    OF    DIFFERENT    PERIODS. 

1.  Vocabulary  and  Grammar. — The  oldest  English  or  Anglo- 
Saxon  differs  from  modern  English  both  in  vocabulary  and  in 
grammar — in  the  words  it  uses  and  in  the  inflexions  it  emj)loys. 
The  difference  is  often  startling.  And  yet,  if  we  look  closely 
at  the  words  and  their  dress,  we  shall  most  often  find  that  the 
words  which  look  so  strange  are  the  very  words  with  which  we 
are  most  familiar — words  that  we  are  in  the  habit  of  using  every 
day ;  and  that  it  is  their  dress  alone  that  is  strange  and  anti- 
quated. The  effect  is  the  same  as  if  we  were  to  dress  a  modern 
man  in  the  clothes  worn  a  thousand  years  ago :  the  chances  are 
that  we  should  not  be  able  to  recognise  even  our  dearest  friend. 

2.  A  Specimen  from  Anglo-Saxon. — Let  us  take  as  an 
example  a  verse  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  version  of  one  of  the 
Gospels.  The  well-known  verse,  Luke  ii.  40,  runs  thus  in  our 
<jldest  English  version  : — 

Sdjilice  daet  cild  weox,  and  waea  gestrangod,  wisddmes  full ;  and  Godes 
gyfu  waes  on  him. 

ITow  this  looks  like  an  extract  from  a  foreign  language ;  but  it 
is  not :  it  is  our  own  veritable  mother-tongue.  Every  word  is 
pure  ordinary  English;  it  is  the  dress — the  spelling  and  the 
inflexions — that  is  quaint  and  old-fashioned.  This  will  be 
plain  from  a  literal  translation : — 

Soothly  that  child  waxed,  and  was  etrengthened,  wiadome  full  (as full  of 
wisdom) ;  and  God's  gift  was  on  him. 


SPECIMENS   OF  ENGLISH  OF  DIFFERENT  PERIODS.       329 

3.  A  Comparison. — This  will  become  plainer  if  we  compare 
the  English  of  the  Gospels  as  it  was  written  in  different  periods 
of  our  language.  The  alteration  in  the  meanings  of  words,  the 
changes  in  the  application  of  them,  the  variation  in  the  use  of 
phrases,  the  /falling  away  of  the  inflexions — all  these  things 
become  plain  to  the  eye  and  to  the  mind  as  soon  as  we  thought- 
fully compare  the  different  versions.  The  following  are  extracts 
from  the  Anglo-Saxon  version  (995),  the  version  of  Wycliffe 
(1380)  and  of  Tyndale  (1526),  of  the  passage  in  Luke  ii. 
44,  45:— 


Anglo-Saxon. 

Wendon  daet  he  on 
heora  gefere  waere,  d^ 
comon  hig  jlnes  daeges 
faer,  and  hine.  sohton  be- 
tweox  his  magas  and  his 
cudan. 

Da  hig  hyne  ne  f  undon, 
hig  gewendon  to  Hierusa- 
lem,  hine  s^cende. 


"Wycliffe. 

Forsothe  thei  ges- 
singe  him  to  be  in  the 
felowschipe,  camen 
the  wey  of  ^  day,  and 
sou3ten  him  among 
his  cosyns  and  know- 
en. 

And  thei  not  fynd- 
inge,  wenten  a3en  to 
Jerusalem,  sekynge 
him. 


Tyndale. 

For  they  supposed  he 
had  bene  in  the  company, 
they  cam  a  days  iorney, 
and  sought  hym  amonge 
their  kynsfolke  and  ac- 
quayntaunce. 

And  founde  hym  not, 
they  went  backe  agayne 
to  Hierusalem,  and  sought 
hym. 


The   literal    translation    of    the    Anglo-Saxon    version    is    as 
follows  : — 

(They)  weened  that  he  on  their  companionship  were  (  =  was),  when  came 
they  one  day's  faring,  and  him  sought  betwixt  his  relations  and  his  couth 
(folk  =  acquaintances). 

When  they  him  not  found,  they  turned  to  Jerusalem,  him  seeking. 


4.  The  Lord's  Prayer. — The  same  plan  of  comparison  may 
be  applied  to  the  different  versions  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  thai 
have  come  down  to  us  ;  and  it  will  be  seen  from  this  compari- 
son that  the  greatest  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  grammar, 
and  especially  in  that  part  of  the  grammar  which  contains  the 
inflexions. 


330 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


THE   LORD'S   PRAYER. 


1130. 

Reiqn  of  Stephen. 

Fader  ure,  ]>e 
art  on  heofone. 

Sy  gebletsod 
name  J)in, 

Cume  jjin  rike. 

Si  J>in  wil  swa 
swa  on  heofone 
and  on  eorj>an. 

Breod  ure  deg- 
wamlich  geof  us 
to  daeg. 

And  forgeof  us 
ageltes  ura  swa 
swa  we  forgeofen 
agiltendum  ur- 
um. 

And  ne  led  us 
on  costunge. 

Ac  alys  us  fram 
yfele.  Swa  beo 
hit 


1250. 

Reign 
OF  Henry  III. 

Fadir  ur,  that 
es  in  hevene. 


Halud  thi  nam 
to  nevene  ; 

Thou  do  as  thi 
rich  rike  ; 

Thi  will  on  erd 
be  wrought,  eek 
as  it  is  wrought 
in  heven  ay. 

Ur  ilk  day 
brede  give  us  to 
day. 

Forgive  thou 
all  us  dettes  urs, 
als  we  forgive  till 
ur  detturs. 

And  ledde  us 
in  na  fandung. 

But  sculd  us 
fra  ivel  thing. 
Amen. 


1380. 

Wycliffe's 

Version. 

Our  Fadir,  that 
art  in  hevenys, 

Halewid  be  tlii 
name  ; 

Thi  kingdom 
come  to  ; 

Be  thi  wil  done 
in  erthe,  as  in 
hevene. 

Give  to  us  this 
day  oure  breed 
ovir  othir  suh- 
staunce, 

And  forgive  to 
us  our  dettis,  as 
we  forgiven  to 
oure  dettouris. 

And  lede  us 
not  into  iempta- 
cioun  ; 

But  ddyvere 
us  from  yvel. 
Amen. 


1526. 

Tyndale's 
Version. 

Our  Father, 
which  art  in 
heaven  ; 

Halowed  ba 
thy  name  ; 

Let  thy  king- 
dom come  ; 

Thy  will  be  ful- 
filled as  well  in 
earth  as  it  is  in 
heven. 

Geve  us  this 
day  ur  dayly 
bred. 

And  forgeve  us 
oure  dettes  as  we 
forgeve  ur  det- 
ters. 

And  leade  ua 
not  into  tempta- 
tion, 

But  delyver  us 
from  evyll.  For 
thyne  is  the  kyng 
dom,  and  the 
power,  and  the 
glorye,  for  ever. 
Amen. 


It  will  be  observed  tbat  Wycliffe's  version  contains  five  Ro- 
mance terms  —  substaunce,  dettis,  dettouris,  temptacioun,  and 
delyvere. 

5.  Oldest  English  and  Early  English. — The  following  is  a 
short  passage  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  under  date 
1137:  first,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  form;  second,  in  Early  Eng- 
lish, or  —  as   it   has    sometimes   been  called — Broken  Saxon; 


SPECIMENS  OF  ENGLISH  OF  DIFFERENT   PEBIODS.      331 

third,  in  modern  Englisli.  The  breaking-down  of  the  gram- 
mar becomes  still  more  strikingly  evident  from  this  close 
juxtaposition. 

(i^     HI  swencton  J>^     wreccan    menn 

(ii)      HI  swencben  the      wrecce      men 

(iii)  They    swinked  (harassed)    the   wretched    men 

(i)  f>aes  landes  mid  castel-weorcum. 
(ii)  Of-the-land  mid  castel-weorces. 
(iii)  Of  the  land   with     castle-works. 

(i)  Da  |>d  castelas  waeron  gemacod, 
(ii)  Tha  the  castles  waren  maked, 
(iii)  When   the    castles      were        made, 

(i)    f>^     fyldon     hi        hi       mid    yfelum   mannum. 
(ii)    thd,    fylden      hi         hi       mid     yvele  men. 

(iii)  then     filled    they   them   with      evil  men. 

6.  Comparisons  of  Words  and  Inflexions. — Let  us  take  a 
few  of  the  most  prominent  words  in  our  language,  and  observe 
the  changes  that  have  fallen  upon  them  since  they  made  their 
appearance  in  our  island  in  the  fifth  century.  These  changes 
will  be  best  seen  by  displaying  them  in  columns  : — 


Anglo-Saxon. 

Eakly  English. 

Middle  English. 

Modern  English. 

heom. 

to  heom. 

to  hem. 

to  them. 

h^o. 

heo. 

ho,  scho. 

she. 

sweostrum. 

to  the  swestres. 

to  the  swistren. 

to  the  sisters. 

geboren. 

gebore. 

ibore. 

born. 

lufigende. 

lufigend. 

lovand. 

loving. 

weoxon. 

woxen. 

wexide. 

waxed. 

7.  Conclusions  from  the  above  Comparisons. — We  can  now 

draw  several  conclusions  from  the  comparisons  we  have  made 
of  the  passages  given  from  different  periods  of  the  language. 
These  conclusions  relate  chiefly  to  verbs  and  nouns ;  and  they 


332 


HISTORY  OF  THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


may  become  useful  as  a  key  to  enable  us  to  judge  to  what 
period  in  the  history  of  our  language  a  passage  presented  to  us 
must  belong.  If  we  find  such  and  such  marks,  the  language  is 
Anglo-Saxon ;  if  other  marks,  it  is  Early  English ;  and  so  on. 


I.— MARKS  OF  ANGLO- 
SAXON. 

Teres. 

Infinitive  in  an. 

Pres.  part,  in  ende. 

Past  part,  with  ge. 

3d  plural  pres.  in  ath. 

3d  plural  past  in  on. 

Plural    of  imperatives 

in  ath. 


Nouns. 
Plurals  in  an,  as,  or  a. 
Dative  plural  in  um. 


II.— MARKS   OF   EARLY 
ENGLISH   (1100-1250). 

Verbs. 
Infin.  in  en  or  e. 
Pres.  part,   in  ind. 
ge  of  past  part,  turned 

into  i  or  y. 
3d  plural  in  en. 


Nouns. 
Plural  in  es. 
Dative  plural  in  es. 


III.— MARKS     OF    MID- 
DLE ENGLISH  (1250-1485). 

Verbs. 

Infin.  with  to  (the   en 

was     dropped    about 

1400). 

Pres.  part,  in  Inge. 

3d  plural  in  en. 

Imperative  in  eth. 

Plurals  in   es  (separate 

syllable). 

Nouns. 
Possessives  in  es  (sepa- 
rate syllable). 


8.  The  English  of  the  Thirteenth  Century. — In  this  century 
there  was  a  great  breaking-down  and  stripping-off  of  inflexions. 
This  is  seen  in  the  Ormulum  of  Orm,  a  canon  of  the  Order  of 
St  Augustine,  whose  English  is  nearly  as  flexionless  as  that  of 
Chaucer,  although  about  a  century  and  a  half  before  him.  Orm 
has  also  the  peculiarity  of  always  doubling  a  consonant  after  a 
short  vowel.     Thus,  in  his  introduction,  he  says  : — ■ 

"  piss  boc  iss  nemmnedd  Orrmulum 
Forr  ]>i  ])att  Orrm  itt  wrohhte." 

That  is,  "This  book  is  named  Ormulum,  for  the  (reason)  that 
Orm  wrought  it."  The  absence  of  inflexions  is  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  book  is  written  in  the  East-Midland  dialect. 
But,  in  a  song  called  "The  Story  of  Genesis  and  Exodus," 
written  about  1250,  we  find  a  greater  number  of  inflexions. 
Thus  we  read  : — • 


"  Hunger  wex  in  lond  Chanaan  ; 
And  his  x  sunes  Jacob  for-San 


SPECIxMENS   OF   ENGLISH   OF   DIFFERENT   PERIODS.      333 

Sente  in  to  Egypt  to  bringen  coren  ; 
He  bilefe  at  horn  Se  was  gungest  boren." 

That  is,  "  Hunger  waxed  (increased)  in  the  land  of  Canaan ; 
and  Jacob  for  that  (reason)  sent  his  ten  sons  into  Egypt  to 
bring  corn/:  he  remained  at  home  that  Avas  youngest  born." 

9.  The  English  of  the  Fourteenth  Century.  —  The  four 
greatest  writers  of  the  fourteenth  century  are  —  in  verse, 
Chaucer  and  Langlande ;  and  in  prose,  Mandeville  and 
WyclifFe,  The  inflexions  continue  to  drop  off;  and,  in 
Chaucer  at  least,  a  larger  number  of  French  words  appear. 
Chaucer  also  writes  in  an  elaborate  verse -measure  that  forms 
a  striking  contrast  to  the  homely  rhythms  of  Langlande.  Thus, 
in  the  "Man  of  Lawes  Tale,"  we  have  the  verse  : — 

"  0  queenes,  lyvynge  in  prosperitee, 
Duchesses,  and  ladyes  everichone, 
Haveth  som  routhe  on  hir  adversitde  ; 
An  emperoures  doughter  stant  allone  ; 
She  hath  no  wight  to  whom  to  make  hir  mone. 
O  blood  roial  !  that  stondest  in  this  drede 
Fer  ben  thy  frendes  at  thy  grete  nede  ! " 

Here,  with  the  exception  of  the  imperative  in  Haveth  som 
routhe  (  =  have  some  pity),  staiit,  and  hen  ( =  are),  the  grammar 
of  Chaucer  is  very  near  the  grammar  of  to-day.  How  different 
this  is  from  the  simple  English  of  Langlande  !  He  is  speaking 
of  the  great  storm  of  wind  that  blew  on  January  15,  1362  : — 

"  Piries  and  Plomtres         weore  passchet  to  |)e  grounde. 
In  ensaumple  to  Men      J»at  we  scholde  do  ])e  bettre, 
Beches  and  brode  okes    weore  blowen  to  ])e  eor})e." 

Here  it  is  the  spelling  of  Langlande's  English  that  differs  most 
from  modern  English,  and  not  the  grammar. — Much  the  same 
maybe  said  of  the  style  of  Wycliffe  (1324-1384)  and  of  Mande- 
viUe  (1300-1372).  In  Wycliffe's  version  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark, 
v.  26,  he  speaks  of  a  woman  "  that  hadde  suffride  many  thingis 
of  ful  many  lechis  (doctors),  and  spendid  alle  hir  thingis ;  and 
no -thing  profitide."  Sir  John  Mandeville's  English  keeps 
many  old  inflexions  and  spellings ;  but  is,  in  other  respects, 
modern  enough.     Speaking  of  Mahomet,  he  says :    "  And  ^ee 


334  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

schulle  nnderstonds  that  Machamete  was  born  in  Ai-abye,  that 
was  first  a  pore  knave  that  kept  cameles,  that  wenten  with 
marchantes  for  marchandise."  Knave  for  boy,  and  iventen  for 
went  are  the  two  chief  differences — the  one  in  the  use  of  words, 
the  other  in  grammar — that  distinguish  this  piece  of  ]\Iande- 
ville's  English,  from  our  modern  speech. 

10.  The  English  of  the  Sixteenth  Century. — This,  which  is 
also  called  Tudor-English,  differs  as  regards  grammar  hardly  at 
all  from  the  English  of  the  nineteenth  century.  This  becomes 
plain  from  a  passage  from  one  of  Latimer's  sermons  (1490-1555), 
"  a  book  which  gives  a  faithful  picture  of  the  manners,  thoughts, 
and  events  of  the  period."  "My  father,"  he  writes,  "was  a 
yeoman,  and  had  no  lands  of  his  own,  only  he  had  a  farm  of 
three  or  four  pound  a  year  at  the  uttermost,  and  hereupon  he 
tilled  so  much  as  kept  half  a  dozen  men.  He  had  walk  for  a 
hundred  sheep  j  and  my  mother  milked  thirty  kine."  In  this 
passage,  it  is  only  the  old-fashionedness,  homeliness,  and  quaint- 
ness  of  the  English — not  its  grammar — that  makes  us  feel  that 
it  was  not  written  in  our  own  times.  "When  Ridley,  the  fellow- 
martyr  of  Latimer,  stood  at  the  stake,  he  said,  "I  commit  our 
cause  to  Almighty  God,  which  shall  indifferently  judge  all.'* 
Here  he  used  indifferently  in  the  sense  of  impartially — that  is, 
in  the  sense  of  making  no  diff'erence  hetioeen  parties ;  and  this 
is  one  among  a  very  large  number  of  instances  of  Latin  words, 
when  they  had  not  been  long  in  our  language,  still  retaining  the 
older  Latin  meaning. 

11.  The  English  of  the  Bible  (i). — The  version  of  the  Bible 
which  W8  at  present  use  was  made  in  1611 ;  and  we  might 
therefore  suppose  that  it  is  written  in  seventeenth-century  Eng- 
lish. But  this  is  not  the  case.  The  translators  were  com- 
manded by  James  L  to  "  follow  the  Bishops'  Bible  " ;  and  the 
Bishops'  Bible  was  itself  founded  on  the  "  Great  Bible,"  which 
was  published  in  1539.  But  the  Great  Bible  is  itself  only  a 
revision  of  Tyndale's,  part  of  which  appeared  as  early  as  1526. 
When  we  are  reading  the  Bible,  therefore,  we  are  reading  Eng- 
lish of  the  sixteenth  century,  and,  to  a  large  extent,  of  the  early 
part  of  that  century.     It  is  true  that  successive  generations  of 


SPECIMENS   OF   ENGLISH  OF   DIFFERENT   PERIODS.      335 

printers  have,  of  their  own  accord,  altered  the  spelling,  and 
even,  to  a  slight  extent,  modified  the  grammar.  Thus  we  have 
fetched  for  the  older  fet^  more  for  moe,  sown  for  sowen,  brittle  for 
brickie  (which  gives  the  connection  with  break),  jaivs  for  chaivs^ 
sixth  for  sixtf  and  so  on.  But  we  still  find  such  participles  as 
shined  and  Understanded ;  and  such  phrases  as  "  they  can  skill 
to  hew  timber "  (1  Kings  v.  6),  "  abjects  "  for  abject  jpersons^ 
"  three  days  agone "  for  ago,  the  "  captivated  Hebrews "  for 
"the  captive  Hebrews,'^  and  others. 

12.  The  English  of  the  Bible  (ii). — We  have,  again,  old 
words  retained,  or  used  in  the  older  meaning.  Thus  we  find, 
in  Psalm  v.  6,  the  phrase  "  them  that  speak  leasing,"  which 
reminds  us  of  King  Alfred's  expression  about  "leasum  spellum" 
(lying  stories).  Troiv  and  loeen  are  often  found ;  the  "  cham- 
paign over  against  Gilgal"  (Deut.  xi.  30)  means  WiQ  plain;  and  a 
publican  in  the  ]^ew  Testament  is  a  tax-gatherer,  who  sent  to 
the  Roman  Treasury  or  Publicum  the  taxes  he  had  collected 
from  the  Jews.  An  "  ill-favoured  person  "  is  an  ill-looking  per- 
son; and  "bravery"  (Isa.  iii.  18)  is  used  in  the  sense  of  finery 
in  dress.  —  Some  of  the  oldest  grammar,  too,  remains,  as  in 
Esther  viii.  8,  "  Write  ye,  as  it  liketh  you,"  where  the  you  is  a 
dative.  Again,  in  Ezek.  xxx.  2,  we  find  "Howl  ye.  Woe 
worth  the  day  !  "  where  the  imperative  worth  governs  day  in  the 
dative  case.  This  idiom  is  still  found  in  modem  verse,  as  in 
the  well-known  lines  in  the  first  canto  of  the  "Lady  of  the 
Lake":— 

"  Woe  worth  the  chase,  woe  worth  the  day 
That  cost  thy  life,  my  gallant  grey  ! " 


CHAPTEE     y. 


MODERN    ENGLISH. 


1.  Grammar  Fixed. — From  the  date  of  1485 — that  is,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  YII. — the  changes  in  the 
grammar  or  constitution  of  our  language  are  so  extremely  small, 
that  they  are  hardly  noticeable.  Any  Englishman  of  ordinary 
education  can  read  a  book  belonging  to  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifteenth  or  to  the  sixteenth  century  without  difficulty.  Since 
that  time  the  grammar  of  our  language  has  hardly  changed  at 
all,  though  we  have  altered  and  enlarged  our  vocabulary,  and 
have  adopted  thousands  of  new  words.  The  introduction  of 
Printing,  the  Revival  of  Learning,  the  Translation  of  the  Bible, 
the  growth  and  spread  of  the  power  to  read  and  write — these 
and  other  influences  tended  to  fix  the  language  and  to  keep  it 
as  it  is  to-day.  It  is  true  that  we  have  dropped  a  few  old- 
fashioned  endings,  like  the  n  or  en  in  silvern  and  golden; 
but,  so  far  as  form  or  grammar  is  concerned,  the  English  of  the 
sixteenth  and  the  English  of  the  nineteenth  centuries  are  sub- 
stantially the  same. 

2.  New  Words. — But,  w^hile  the  grammar  of  English  has 
remained  the  same,  the  vocabulary  of  English  has  been  grow- 
ing, and  growing  rapidly,  not  merely  with  each  century,  but 
with  each  generation.  The  discovery  of  the  J^ew  "World  in 
1492  gave  an  impetus  to  maritime  enterprise  in  England,  which 
it  never  lost,  brought  us  into  connection  with  the  Spaniards, 
and  hence  contributed  to  our  language  several  Spanish  words. 
In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  Italian  literature 


MODERN   ENGLISH. 


337 


wsls  largely  read ;  Wyatt  and  Surrey  sliow  its  influence  in  their 
poems ;  and  Italian  words  began  to  come  in  in  considerable 
numbers.  Commerce,  too,  has  done  much  for  us  in  this  way; 
and  along  with  the  article  imported,  we  have  in  general  intro- 
duced also  tfie  name  it  bore  in  its  own  native  country.  In  later 
times.  Science  has  been  making  rapid  strides — has  been  bring- 
ing to  light  new  discoveries  and  new  inventions  almost  every 
week ;  and  along  with  these  new  discoveries,  the  language  has 
been  enriched  with  new  names  and  new  terms.  Let  us  look  a 
little  more  closely  at  the  character  of  these  foreign  contributions 
to  the  vocabulary  of  our  tongue. 

3.  Spanish  Words. — The  words  we  have  received  from  the 
Spanish  language  are  not  numerous,  but  they  are  important. 
In  addition  to  the  ill-fated  word  armada,  we  have  the  Span- 
ish for  Mr,  which  is  Don  (from  Lat.  dominus,  a  lord),  with  its 
feminine  Duenna.  They  gave  us  also  alligator,  which  is  our 
English  way  of  writing  el  lagarto,  the  lizard.  They  also  pre- 
sented us  with  a  large  number  of  words  that  end  in  o — such  as 
buffalo,  cargo,  desperado,  guano,  indigo,  mosquito,  mulatto, 
negro,  potato,  tornado,  and  others.  The  following  is  a  toler- 
ably full  list : — 


Alligator. 

Cork. 

Galleon  (a 

ship).  Mulatto. 

Armada. 

Creole. 

Grandee. 

Negro. 

Barricade. 

Desperado. 

Grenade. 

Octoroon. 

Battledore. 

Lon. 

Guerilla. 

Quadroon. 

Bravado. 

Duenna. 

Indigo. 

Renegade. 

Buflfalo. 

Eldorado. 

Jennet. 

Savannah. 

Cargo. 

Embargo. 

Matador. 

Sherry  ( =  Xeres). 

Cigar. 

Filibuster. 

Merino. 

Tornado. 

Cochineal. 

Flotilla. 

Mosquito. 

Vanilla. 

4.  Italian  "Words. — Italian  literature  has  been  read  and 
cultivated  in  England  since  the  time  of  Chaucer  —  since  the 
fourteenth  century ;  and  the  arts  and  artists  of  Italy  have  for 
many  centuries  exerted  a  great  deal  of  influence  on  those  of 
England.  Hence  it  is  that  we  owe  to  the  Italian  language  a 
large  number  of  words.  These  relate  to  poetry,  such  as  canto, 
sonnet,  stanza ;  to  music,  as  pianoforte,  opera,  oratorio, 
soprano,   alto,   contralto ;    to   architecture    and    sculpture,    as 


338 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


portico,  piazza,  cupola,  torso;  and  to  painting,  as  studio, 
fresco  (an  open-air  painting),  and  others.  The  following  list 
contains  many  words  in  common  use  : — 


Alarm. 

Charlatan. 

Incognito. 

Proviso. 

Alert. 

Citadel. 

Influenza. 

Quarto. 

Alto. 

Colonnade. 

Lagoon. 

Regatta. 

Arcade. 

Concert. 

Lava. 

Ruffian. 

Balcony, 

Contralto. 

Lazaretto. 

Serenade. 

Balustrade. 

Conversazione. 

Macaroni. 

Sonnet. 

Bandit. 

Cornice. 

Madonna. 

Soprano. 

Bankrupt. 

Corridor. 

Madrigal. 

Stanza. 

Bravo. 

Cupola. 

Malaria. 

Stiletto. 

Brigade. 

Curvet. 

Manifesto. 

Stucco. 

Brigand. 

Dilettante. 

Motto. 

Studio. 

Broccoli. 

Ditto. 

Moustache. 

Tenor. 

Burlesque. 

Doga 

Niche. 

Terra -cottew 

Bust. 

Domino. 

Opera. 

Tirade. 

Cameo. 

Extravaganza. 

Oratorio. 

Torso. 

Canteen. 

Fiasco. 

Palette. 

Trombone. 

Canto. 

Folio. 

Pantaloon. 

Umbrella. 

Caprice. 

Fresco. 

Parapet. 

Vermilion. 

Caricature. 

Gazette. 

Pedant. 

Vertu. 

Carnival. 

Gondola. 

Pianoforte. 

Virtuoso. 

Cartoon. 

Granite. 

Piazza. 

Vista. 

Cascade. 

Grotto. 

Pistol. 

Volcano. 

Cavalcade. 

Guitar. 

Portico. 

Zany. 

5.  Dutch  Words. — We  have  had  for  many  centuries  com- 
mercial dealings  with  the  Dutch ;  and  as  they,  like  ourselves, 
are  a  great  seafaring  people,  they  have  given  us  a  number 
of  words  relating  to  the  management  of  ships.  In  the  four- 
teenth century,  the  southern  part  of  the  German  Ocean  was 
the  most  frequented  sea  in  the  world ;  and  the  chances  of 
plunder  were  so  great  that  ships  of  war  had  to  keep  cruising 
up  and  down  to  protect  the  trading  vessels  that  sailed  between 
England  and  the  Low  Countries.  The  following  are  words 
which  we  owe  to  the  ^Netherlands  : — 


Ballast. 

Luff. 

Sloop. 

Trigger. 

Boom. 

Reef. 

Smack. 

Wear  (said  of  a 

Boor. 

Schiedam  (gin). 

Smuggle. 

ship). 

Burgomaster. 

Skates. 

Stiver. 

Yacht 

Hoy. 

Skipper. 

Taffrail. 

YawL 

MODERN  ENGLISH. 


339 


6.  French  Words.  —  Besides  the  large  additions  to  our 
language  made  by  the  Norman-French,  we  have  from  time  to 
time  imported  direct  from  France  a  number  of  French  words, 
without  change  in  the  spelling,  and  with  little  change  in  the 
pronunciation.  The  French  have  been  for  centuries  the  most 
polished  nation  in  Europe ;  from  France  the  changing  fashions 
in  dress  spread  over  all  the  countries  of  the  Continent ;  French 
literature  has  been  much  read  in  England  since  the  time  of 
Charles  II. ;  and  for  a  long  time  all  diplomatic  correspondence 
between  foreign  countries  and  England  was  carried  on  b^  French. 
"Words  relating  to  manners  and  customs  are  common,  such  as 
soiree,  etiquette,  seance,  elite ;  and  we  have  also  the  names  of 
things  which  were  invented  in  France,  such  as  mitrailleuse, 
carte-de-visite,  coup  d'etat,  and  others.  Some  of  these  words 
are,  in  spelling,  exactly  like  English ;  and  advantage  of  this  has 
been  taken  in  a  well-known  epigTam  : — 

The  French  have  taste  in  all  they  do, 

Which  we  are  quite  without ; 
For  Nature,  which  to  them  gave  goUt,^ 

To  us  gave  only  gout. 

The   following  is  a  list    of   French  words  which   have   been 
imported  in  comparatively  recent  times : — 


Aide-de-camp. 

Carte-de-visite. 

Etiquette. 

PersonneL 

Belle. 

Coup-d'dtat. 

Fagade. 

Precis. 

Bivouac. 

D^ris. 

Gotit. 

Programme. 

Blonde. 

D^ut. 

Naive. 

Prot^gd. 

Bouquet. 

D^jeliner. 

Naivete. 

Recherche. 

Brochure. 

Depot. 

Nonchalance. 

Stance. 

Brunette. 

]6clat. 

Outrd. 

Soiree. 

Brusque. 

Ennui. 

Penchant. 

Trousseau. 

The  Scotch  have  always  had  a  closer  connection  with  the  French 
nation  than  England ;  and  hence  we  find  in  the  Scottish  dialect 
of  English  a  number  of  French  words  that  are  not  used  in  South 
Britain  at  all.  A  leg  of  mutton  is  called  in  Scotland  a  gigot ; 
the  dish  on  which  it  is  laid  is  an  ashet  (from  assiette) ;  a  cup 
for  tea  or  for  wine  is  a  tassie  (from  tasse) ;  the  gate  of  a  town  is 

1  Oo{d  (goo)  from  Latin  gusius,  taste. 


340 


HISTORY   OF   THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 


called  the  port ;  and  a  stubborn  person  is  dour  (Fr.  dur,  from 
Lat.  dui'us) ;  while  a  gentle  and  amiable  person  is  douce  (Fr. 
douce,  Lat.  dulcis). 

7.  German  Words. — It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  English  is 
a  Low-German  dialect,  while  the  German  of  books  is  K'ew  High- 
German.  We  have  never  borrowed  directly  from  High-German, 
because  we  have  never  needed  to  borrow.  Those  modern  Ger- 
man words  that  have  come  into  our  language  in  recent  times  are 
chiefly  the  names  of  minerals,  with  a  few  striking  exceptions, 
such  as  loafer,  which  came  to  us  from  the  German  immigrants 
to  the  United  States,  and  plunder,  which  seems  to  have  been 
brought  from  Germany  by  English  soldiers  who  had  served  under 
Gustavus  Adolphus.  The  following  are  the  German  words 
which  we  have  received  in  recent  times  : — 


Cobalt. 

Landgrave. 

Meerschaum. 

Poodle. 

Felspar. 

Loafer. 

Nickel. 

Quartz, 

Hornblende. 

Margrave. 

Plunder. 

Zinc. 

8.  Hebrew  Words. — These,  with  very  few  exceptions,  have 
come  to  us  from  the  translation  of  the  Bible,  which  is  now  in 
use  in  our  homes  and  churches.  Abbot  and  abbey  come  from 
the  Hebrew  word  abba,  father ;  and  such  words  as  cabal  and 
Talmud,  though  not  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  have  been 
contributed  by  Jewish  literature.  The  following  is  a  tolerabl;y 
complete  list : — 


Abbey. 

Cinnamon. 

Leviathan. 

Sabbath. 

Abbot. 

Hallelujah. 

Manna. 

Sadducees. 

Amen. 

Hosannah. 

Paschal. 

Satan. 

Behemoth. 

Jehovah. 

Pharisee. 

Seraph. 

Cabal. 

Jubilee. 

Pharisaical. 

Shibboleth. 

Cherub. 

Gehenna. 

Eabbi. 

Talmud. 

9.  Other  Foreign  Words. — The  English  have  always  been 
the  greatest  travellers  in  the  world;  and  our  sailors  always 
the  most  daring,  intelligent,  and  enterprising.  There  is  hardly 
a  port  or  a  country  in  the  world  into  which  an  English  ship  has 
not  penetrated  ;  and  our  commerce  has  now  been  maintained  for 
centuries  with  every  people  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  We 
exchange  goods  with  almost  every  nation  and  tribe  under  the 


MODERN   ENGLISH. 


341 


sun.  When  we  import  articles  or  produce  from  abroad,  we  in 
general  import  the  native  name  along  with  the  thing.  Hence 
it  is  that  we  have  guano,  maize,  and  tomato  from  the  two 
Americas ;  coffee,  cotton,  and  tamarind  from  Arabia ;  tea, 
congou,  and  nankeen  from  China ;  calico,  chintz,  and  rupee 
from  Hindostan  ;  bamboo,  gamboge,  and  sago  from  the  Malay 
Peninsula  ;  lemon,  musk,  and  orange  from  Persia  ;  boomerang 
and  kangaroo  from  AustraHa;  chibouk,  ottoman,  and  tulip 
from  Turkey.  The  following  are  lists  of  these  foreign  words ; 
and  they  are  worth  examining  with  the  greatest  minuteness :— 


African  Dialects. 

Baobab. 

Gnu. 

Karoo. 

Quagga. 

Canary. 

Gorilla. 

Kraal. 

Zebra. 

Chimpanzee. 

Guinea. 

Oasis. 

American  Tongues. 

Alpaca. 

Condor. 

Maize. 

Eacoon. 

Buccaneer. 

Guano. 

Manioc. 

Skunk. 

Cacique. 

Hammock. 

Moccasin. 

Squaw. 

Cannibal. 

Jaguar. 

Mustang. 

Tapioca. 

Canoe. 

Jalap. 

Opossum. 

Tobacco. 

Caoutchouc. 

Jerked  (beef). 

Pampas. 

Tomahawk. 

Cayman. 

Llama. 

Pemmican. 

Tomato. 

Chocolate. 

Mahogany. 

Potato. 

Wigwam. 

Arabic. 

(The  word  al  means  the. 

Thus  Blcohol  =  the 

spirit.) 

Admiral  (Milton 

Azure. 

Harem, 

Salaam. 

writes        am- 

Caliph- 

Hookah. 

Senna. 

miral. 

Carat. 

Koran  (or  Al- 

Sherbet. 

Alcohol. 

Chemistiy. 

coran). 

Shrub  (the 

Alcove. 

Cipher 

Lute. 

drink). 

Alembic. 

Civet. 

Magazine. 

Simoom. 

Algebra. 

Coflfee. 

Mattress. 

Sirocco. 

Alkali. 

Cotton. 

Minaret. 

Sofa. 

Amber. 

Crimson. 

Mohair. 

Sultan. 

Arrack. 

Dragoman. 

Monsoon. 

Syrup. 

Arsenal. 

Elixir. 

Mosque. 

Talisman. 

Artichoke. 

Emir. 

Mufti. 

Tamarind. 

Assassin. 

Fakir. 

Nabob. 

Tariff. 

AssegaL 

Felucca. 

Nadir. 

Vizier. 

Attar. 

Gazelle. 

Naphtha. 

Zenith. 

Azimuth. 

Giraffe. 

Saffron. 

Zero. 

342 


HISTORY   OF   THE   ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 


Chinese. 

Bohea. 

Hyson. 

Nankeen. 

Souchong. 

China. 

Joss. 

Pekoe. 

Tea. 

Congou. 

Junk. 

SilL 

Typhoon. 

Hindu. 

Avatar. 

Cowrie. 

Pagoda. 

Ryot. 

Banyan. 

Durbar. 

Palanquin. 

Sepoy. 

Brahmin. 

Jungle. 

Pariah. 

Shampoo, 

Bungalow. 

Lac  (of  rupees). 

Punch. 

Sugar. 

Calico. 

Loot. 

Pundit. 

Suttee. 

Chintz. 

Mulligatawny. 

Rajah. 

Thug. 

Coolie. 

Musk. 

Rupee. 

Toddy. 

Hungarian. 

Hussar. 

Sabre. 

Shako. 

Tokay. 

Malay. 

Amuck. 

Cassowary. 

Gong. 

Orang-outang. 

Bamboo. 

Cockatoo. 

Gutta-percha. 

Rattan. 

Bantam. 

Dugong. 

Mandarin. 

Sago. 

Caddy. 

Gamboge. 

Mango. 

Upas 

Persian. 

Awning. 

Dervish. 

Jasmine. 

Pasha. 

Bazaar. 

Divan. 

Lac  (a  gum). 

Rook. 

Bashaw. 

Firman. 

Lemon. 

Saraband. 

Caravan. 

Hazard. 

Lilac. 

Sash. 

Check. 

Horde. 

Lime  (the  fruit). 

Scimitar. 

Checkmate. 

HourL 

Musk. 

ShawL 

Chess. 

Jar. 

Orange. 

Taflfeta. 

Curry. 

JackaL 

Paradise. 

Turban. 

Polynesian  Dialects. 
Boomerang.  Kangaroo.  Taboo. 

Portuguese. 


Tattoo. 


Albatross. 

Cocoa-nut. 

Lasso. 

Molasses. 

Caste. 

Commodore.           Marmalade. 

Palaver. 

Cobra. 

Fetish. 

Moidore. 

Port  ( =  Oporto). 

Russian. 

• 

Czar. 

Knout.  . 

Rouble. 

Ukase. 

Drosky. 

Morse. 

Steppe. 

Tartar. 
Khan. 

Turkish. 

Verst. 

Bey. 

Chouse. 

KiosL 

Tulip. 

Caftan. 

Dey. 

Odalisque. 

Yashmak. 

Chibouk. 

Janissary. 

Ottoman. 

Yataghan. 

MODERN  ENGLISH.  343 

10.  Scientific  Terms. — A  very  large  number  of  discoveries 
in  science  have  been  made  in  this  century ;  and  a  large  number 
of  inventtons  have  introduced  these  discoveries  to  the  people, 
and  made  them  useful  in  daily  life.  Thus  we  have  telegraph 
and  telegram ;  photograph ;  telephone  and  even  photophone. 
The  word  dynamite  is  also  modern ;  and  the  unhappy  employ- 
ment of  it  has  made  it  too  widely  known.  Then  passing 
fashions  have  given  us  such  words  as  athlete  and  cesthete.  In 
general,  it  may  be  said  that,  when  we  wish  to  give  a  name  to  a 
new  thing — a  new  discovery,  invention,  or  fashion — we  have 
recourse  not  to  our  own  stores  of  English,  but  to  the  vocabu- 
laries of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages. 


LANDMARKS    IN    THE    HISTORY    OF    THE 
ENGLISH    LANGUAGE. 


A.D. 


1.  The  Beowulf,  an  old  English  epic,  — date  uncertain. 

2.  Christianity  introduced  by  St  Augustine  (and  with  ii  many 

Latin  and  a  few  Greek  words)  .  .  .  .597 

3.  Caedmon — 'Paraphrase  of  the  Scriptures,' — first  English  poem     670 

4.  Baeda^"  The  Venerable  Bede" — translated  into  English  part 

of  St  John's  Gospel  ......         735 

5.  King   Alfred    translated    several    Latin  works    into    English, 

among  others,    Bede's  '  Ecclesiastical  History  of   the  Eng- 
lish Nation '  .  .....         (851)     901 

6.  Aelfric,  Archbishop  of  York,  turned  into  English  most  of  the 

historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  .  .  .1000 

7.  The    Norman    Conquest,    which   introduced   Norman  French 

words  .......      1066 

8.  Anglo-Saxon    Chronicle,    said   to   have   been  begun  by   King 

Alfred,  and  brought  to  a  close  in      .  .  .  .       1160 

9.  Orm  or  Orrmin's  Ormulum,  a  poem  written  in  the  East  Mid- 

land dialect,  about    ......      1154 

10.  Normandy  lost  under  King  John.     Norman-English  now  have 

their  only  home  in  England,  and  use  our  English  speech 

more  and  more  ......      1204 

11.  Layamon   translates  the  '  Brut '  from  the   French   of   Robert 

Wace.     This  is  the  first  English  book  (written  in  Southern 
English)  after  the  stoppage  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  .      1205 

12.  The  Ancren  Riwle  ("Rules  for  Anchorites")  written  in  the 

Dorsetshire  dialect.     "  It  is  the  forerunner  of  a  wondrous 
change  in  our  speech."     "  It  swarms  with  French  words  "        1220 

13.  First  Eoyal  Proclamation  in  English,  issued  by  Henry  III.  .      1258 
*  14.  Eobert  of  Gloucester's  Chronicle  (swarms  with  foreign  terms)   1297 


^ 


LANDMARKS   IN   HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.      345 

15.  Robert  Maiming,  "Robert  of  Brunn,"  compiles  the  'Handlyng 

Synne.'  "It  contains  a  most  copious  proportion  of  French 
words"  .......      1303 

16.  Ayenbite  of  Inwit  ( = "  Remorse  of  Conscience  ")        .  .      1340 

17.  The  Great  Plague.     After  this  it  becomes  less  and  less  the 

fashion  to  speak  French        .....      1349 

18.  Sir  John  Mandeville,  first  writer  of  the  newer  English  Prose — 

in  his  *  Travels,'  which  contained  a  large  admixture  of  French 
words.  "  His  English  is  the  speech  spoken  at  Court  in  the 
latter  days  of  King  Edward  III."     ....      1356 

19.  English  becomes  the  language  of  the  Law  Courts        .             .      1362 
2D.  Wicklifife's  Bible 1380 

21.  Geoffrey  Chaucer,  the  first  great  English  poet,  author  of  the 

'  Canterbury  Tales ' ;  born  in  1340,  died      .  .  .      1400 

22.  William  Caxton,  the  first  English  printer,  brings  out  (in  the 

Low  Countries)  the  first  English  book  ever  printed,  the 
'RecuyeU  of  the  Historyes  of  Troye,' — "not  written  with 
pen  and  ink,  as  other  books  are,  to  the  end  that  every  man 
may  have  them  at  once  "       .....       1471 

23.  First  English  Book  printed  in  England  (by  Caxton)  the  *  Game 

and  Playe  of  the  Chesse '      .  .  .  .  .       1474 

24.  Lord  Bemers'  translation  of  Froissart's  Chronicle       .  .       1523 

25.  William  Tyndale,  by  his  translation  of  the  Bible  "fixed  our 

tongue  once  for  all."  "  His  New  Testament  has  become  the 
standard  of  our  tongue :  the  first  ten  verses  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  are  a  good  sample  of  his  manly  Teutonic  pith"     1525-34 

26.  Edmund  Spenser  publishes  his  '  Faerie  Queene.'     "  Now  began 

the  golden  age  of  England's  literature  ;  and  this  age  was  to 

last  for  about  fourscore  years  "        ....      1590 

27.  Our   English   Bible,   based   chiefly  on   Tyndale's   translation.         /' 

"Those  who  revised  the  English  Bible  in  1611  were  bidden 
to  keep  as  near  as  they  could  to  the  old  versions,  such  as 
Tyndale's"    .......        1611 

28.  William  Shakespeare  carried  the  use  of  the  English  language 

to  the  greatest  height  of  which  it  was  capable.  He  employed 
21,000  words.  "  The  last  act  of  '  Othello  is  a  rare  specimen  of 
Shakespeare's  diction :  of  every  five  nouns,  verbs,  and  adverbs, 
four  are  Teutonic  "...  (Bom  1564)  1616 

29.  John  Milton,  "the  most  learned  of  English  poets,"  publishes 

his '  Paradise  Lost,' — "  a  poem  in  which  Latin  words  are  intro- 
duced with  great  skill "        .  .  .  .  .1667 


346  mSTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH   LANGUAGE. 

30.  The  Prayer-Book  revised  and  issued  in  its  final  form.     "  Are 

was  substituted  for  he  in  forty-three  places.  This  was  a 
great  victory  of  the  North  over  the  South  "  .  .1661 

31.  John   Bunyan  writes  his  *  Pilgrim's  Progress  ' — a  book  full  of 

pithy  English  idiom.  "  The  common  folk  had  the  wit  at 
once  to  see  the  worth  of  Bunyan's  masterpiece,  and  the 
learned  long  afterwards  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  common 
folk"  .....  (Born  1628)  1688 

32.  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  the  author  of  'Urn-Burial'  and  other  works 

written  in  a  highly  Latinised  diction,  such  as  the  *  Eeligio 
Medici,'  written       ......      1642 

33.  Dr  Samuel  Johnson  was  the  chief  supporter  of  the  use  of 

"long- tailed  words  in  osity  and  ation,"  such  as  his  novel 
called  '  Rasselas,' published^  ....       1759 

34.  Tennyson,  Poet-Laureate,  a  vrriter  of  the  best  English — "a 

countryman  of  Robert  Manning's,  and  a  careful  student  of 
old  Malory,  has  done  much  for  the  revival  of  pure  English 
among  us".  .  t  t  .  (Bom  1809)  1892 


PAET    IV. 

OUTLINE   OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    ENGLISH 
LITERATURE 


CHAPTER    I. 

OUR    OLDEST    ENGLISH    LITERATURE. 

1.  Literature. — The  history  of  English  Literature  is,  m  its 
external  aspect,  an  account  of  the  best  books  in  prose  and  in 
verse  that  have  been  written  by  English  men  and  English 
women ;  and  this  account  begins  with  a  poem  brought  over 
from  the  Continent  by  our  countrymen  in  the  fifth  century,  and 
comes  down  to  the  time  in  which  we  live.  It  covers,  therefore, 
a  period  of  nearly  fourteen  hundred  years. 

2.  The  Distribution  of  Literature. — We  must  not  suppose 
that  literature  has  always  existed  in  the  form  of  printed  books. 
Literature  is  a  living  thing — a  living  outcome  of  the  living 
mind;  and  there  are  many  ways  in  which  it  has  been  dis- 
tributed to  other  human  beings.  The  oldest  way  is,  of  course, 
by  one  person  repeating  a  poem  or  other  literary  composition 
he  has  made  to  another ;  and  thus  literature  is  stored  away, 
not  upon  book  -  shelves,  but  in  the  memory  of  living  men. 
Homer's  poems  are  said  to  have  been  preserved  in  this  way 
to  the  Greeks  for  five  hundred  years.  Father  chanted  them 
to  son ;  the  sons  to  their  sons ;  and  so  on  from  generation  to 
generation.  The  next  way  of  distributing  literature  is  by  the 
aid  of  signs  called  letters  made  upon  leaves,  flattened  reeds, 
parchment,  or  the  inner  bark  of  trees.  The  next  is  by  the 
help  of  writing  upon  paper.  The  last  is  by  the  aid  of  type 
upon  paper.  This  has  existed  in  England  for  more  than  four 
hundred  years — since  the  year  1474;  and  thus  it  is  that  our 
libraries  contain  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  valuable  books. 


350  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

For  the  same  reason  is  it,  most  probably,  that  as  our  power  of 
letaining  the  substance  and  multiplying  the  copies  of  books  has 
g^o^vn  stronger,  our  living  memories  have  grown  weaker.  This 
defect  can  be  remedied  only  by  education — that  is,  by  training 
the  memories  of  the  young.  While  we  possess  so  many  printed 
books,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  many  valuable  works  exist 
still  in  manuscript — written  either  upon  paper  or  on  parchment. 
3.  Verse,  the  earliest  form  of  Literature. — It  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  the  earliest  kind  of  composition  in  all  languages  is  in 
the  form  of  Verse.  The  oldest  books,  too,  are  those  which  are 
written  in  verse.  Thus  Homer's  poems  are  the  oldest  literary 
work  of  Greece ;  the  Sagas  are  the  oldest  productions  of  Scan- 
dinavian literature ;  and  the  Beowulf  is  the  oldest  piece  of 
literature  produced  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  It  is  also  from 
the  strong  creative  power  and  the  lively  inventions  of  poets 
that  we  are  even  now  supplied  with  new  thoughts  and  new 
language — that  the  most  vivid  words  and  phrases  come  into  the 
language ;  just  as  it  is  the  ranges  of  high  mountains  that  send 
down  to  the  plains  the  ever  fresh  soil  that  gives  to  them  their 
imending  fertility.  And  thus  it  happens  that  our  present  Eng- 
lish speech  is  full  of  words  and  phrases  that  have  found  their 
way  into  the  most  ordinary  conversation  from  the  writings  of  our 
great  poets — and  especially  from  the  writings  of  our  greatest 
poet,  Shakespeare.  The  fact  that  the  life  of  prose  depends 
for  its  supplies  on  the  creative  minds  of  poets  has  been  well 
expressed  by  an  American  writer  : — 

"  I  looked  upon  a  plain  of  green, 

Which  Bomo  one  called  the  Land  of  Prose^ 
Where  many  living  things  were  seen 
In  movement  or  repose. 

I  looked  upon  a  stately  hQl 

That  well  was  named  the  Mount  of  Song, 

Where  golden  shadows  dwelt  at  will, 
The  woods  and  streams  among. 

But  most  this  fact  my  wonder  bred 
(Though  known  by  all  the  nobly  wise), 

It  was  tlie  mountain  stream  that  fed 
That  fair  green  plain's  amenities." 


OUR  OLDEST  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  351 

4.  Our  oldest  English  Poetry. — The  verse  written  by  our 
old  English,  writers  was  very  different  in  form  from  the  verse 
as  it  appears  in  the  writings  of  Tennyson,  or  Browning,  or 
Matthew  Arnold.  The  old  English  or  Anglo-Saxon  writers 
used  a  kind  of  rhyme  called  head-rhyme  or  alliteration; 
while,  from  the  fourteenth  century  downwards,  our  poets  have 
always  employed  end-rhyme  in  their  verses. 

"Zightly  down  Zeaping  he  Zoosened  his  helmet." 

Such  was  the  rough  old  English  form.  At  least  three  words 
in  each  long  line  were  alliterative — two  in  the  first  half,  and 
one  in  the  second  Metaphorical  phrases  were  common,  such 
as  icar-adder  for  arrow,  loar-shirts  for  armour,  lohale^ »-path  or 
swan-road  for  the  sea,  tvave-horse  for  a  ship,  tree-ioriglit  for- 
carpenter.  Different  statements  of  the  same  fact,  different 
phrases  for  the  same  thing — what  are  called  parallelisms  in 
Hebrew  poetry — as  in  the  line — 

"Then  saw  they  the  sea  head-lands — the  windy  walls,* 

■were  also  in  common  use  among  our  oldest  English  poets. 

5.  Beowulf.  —  The  Beowulf  is  the  oldest  poem  in  the 
English  language.  It  is  our  "  old  English  epic "  :  and,  like 
much  of  our  ancient  verse,  it  is  a  war  poem.  The  author  of 
it  is  unknown.  It  was  probably  composed  in  the  fifth  century 
— not  in  England,  but  on  the  Continent — and  brought  over  to 
this  island — not  on  paper  or  on  parchment — but  in  the  mem- 
ories of  the  old  Jutish  or  Saxon  vikings  or  warriors.  It  was 
not  written  down  at  all,  even  in  England,  till  the  end  of  tho 
ninth  century,  and  then,  probably,  by  a  monk  of  Korthum- 
bria.  It  tells  among  other  things  the  story  of  how  Beowulf 
sailed  from  S^veden  to  the  help  of  Hrothgar,  a  king  in  Jut- 
land, whose  life  was  made  miserable  by  a  monster — half  man, 
half  fiend — named  Grendel.  For  about  twelve  years  this  mon- 
ster had  been  in  the  habit  of  creeping  up  to  the  banqueting- 
hall  of  King  Hrothgar,,  seizing  upon  his  thanes,  carrying  them 
off,  and  devouring  them.  Beowulf  attacks  and  overcomes  the 
dragon,  which  is  mortally  wounded,  and  flees  away  to  die.    The 


352  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

poem  belongs  both  to  the  German  and  to  the  English  literature; 
for  it  is  written  in  a  Continental  English,  which  is  somewhat 
different  from  the  English  of  our  own  island.  But  its  literary- 
shape  is,  as  has  been  said,  due  to  a  Christian  writer  of  JS'orth- 
umbria  ;  and  therefore  its  written  or  printed  form — as  it  exists 
at  present — is  not  German,  but  English.  Parts  of  this  poem 
were  often  chanted  at  the  feasts  of  warriors,  where  all  sang  in 
turn  as  they  sat  after  dinner  over  their  cups  of  mead  round  the 
massive  oaken  table.  The  poem  consists  of  3184  lines,  the 
rhymes  of  which  are  solely  alliterative. 

6.  The  First  Native  English  Poem. — The  Beowulf  came  to 
us  from  the  Continent ;  the  first  native  English  poem  was  pro- 
duced in  Yorkshire.  On  the  dark  wind-swept  cliff  which  rises 
above  the  little  land-locked  harbour  of  Whitby,  stand  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  and  once  famous  abbey.  The  head  of  this  re- 
ligious house  was  the  Abbess  Hild  or  Hilda  :  and  there  was  a 
secular  priest  in  it, — a  very  shy  retiring  man,  who  looked  after 
the  cattle  of  the  monks,  and  whose  name  was  Caed.m.on.  To 
this  man  came  the  gift  of  song,  but  somewhat  late  in  life. 
And  it  came  in  this  wise.  One  night,  after  a  feast,  singing 
began,  and  each  of  those  seated  at  the  table  was  to  sing  in  his 
turn.  Caedmon  was  very  nervous — felt  he  could  not  sing. 
Fear  overcame  his  heart,  and  he  stole  quietly  away  from  the 
table  before  the  turn  could  come  to  him.  He  crept  off  to 
the  cowshed,  lay  down  on  the  straw  and  fell  asleep.  He 
dreamed  a  dream ;  and,  in  his  dream,  there  came  to  him  a 
voice  :  "  Caedmon,  sing  me  a  song  !  "  But  Caedmon  answered  : 
"  I  cannot  sing ;  it  was  for  this  cause  that  I  had  to  leave 
the  feast."  "  But  you  must  and  shall  sing  !  "  "  What  must  I 
sing,  then  1 "  he  replied.  "  Sing  the  beginning  of  created 
things  ! "  said  the  vision ;  and  forthwith  Caedmon  sang  some 
lines  in  his  sleep,  about  God  and  the  creation  of  the  world. 
When  he  awoke,  he  remembered  some  of  the  lines  that  had 
come  to  him  in  sleep,  and,  being  brought  before  Hilda,  he 
recited  them  to  her.  The  Abbess  thought  that  this  wonderful 
gift,  which  had  come  to  him  so  suddenly,  mast  have  come  from 
God,  received  him  into  the  monastery,  made  him  a  monk,  and 


OUK   OLDEST   ENGLISH   LITERATURE.  353 

had  him  taught  sacred  history.  "  All  this  Caedmon,  by  re- 
membering, and,  like  a  clean  animal,  ruminating,  turned  into 
sweetest  verse."  His  poetical  works  consist  of  a  metrical  para- 
phrase of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.  It  was  written 
about  the  year  670 ;  and  he  died  in  680.  It  was  read  and 
re-read  in  manuscript  for  many  centuries,  but  it  was  not  printed 
in  a  book  until  the  year  1655. 

7.  The  War-Poetry  of  England. — There  were  many  poems 
about  battles,  written  both  in  JSTorthumbria  and  in  the  south 
of  England ;  but  it  was  only  in  the  south  that  these  war-songS5 
were,  committed  to  writing  ;  and  of  these  written  songs  there  are 
only  two  that  survive  up  to  the  present  day.  These  are  the 
Song  of  Brunanburg,  and  the  Song  of  the  Fight  at  Maldon. 
The  first  belongs  to  the  date  938;  the  second  to  991.  The 
Song  of  Brunanburg  was  inscribed  in  the  Saxon  Chronicle — 
a  current  narrative  of  events,  written  chiefly  by  monks,  from  the 
ninth  century  to  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Stephen.  The  song 
tells  the  story  of  the  fight  of  King  Athelstan  with  Anlaf  the 
Dane.  It  tells  how  five  young  kings  and  seven  earls  of 
Anlaf's  host  fell  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  lay  there  "  quieted 
by  swords,"  while  their  fellow-lS^orthmen  fled,  and  left  their 
friends  and  comrades  to  "the  screamers  of  war — the  black  raven, 
the  eagle,  the  greedy  battle-hawk,  and  the  grey  wolf  in  the 
wood."  The  Song  of  the  Fight  at  Maldon  tells  us  of  the 
heroic  deeds  and  death  of  Byrhtnoth,  an  ealdorman  of  ISTorth- 
umbria,  in  battle  against  the  Danes  at  Maldon,  in  Essex. 
The  speeches  of  the  chiefs  are  given ;  the  single  combats  between 
heroes  described ;  and,  as  in  Homer,  the  names  and  genealogies 
of  the  foremost  men  are  brought  into  the  verse. 

8.  The  First  English  Prose. — The  first  writer  of  English 
prose  was  Baeda,  or,  as  he  is  generally  called,  the  Venerablo 
Bade.  He  was  born  in  the  year  672  at  Monkwearmouth,  a 
small  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Wear,  and  was,  like 
Caedmon,  a  native  of  the  kingdom  of  Northumbria.  He 
spent  most  of  his  life  at  the  famous  monastery  of  Jarrow-on- 
Tyne.  He  spent  his  life  in  writing.  His  works,  which  were 
written  in  Latin,  rose  to  the  number  of  forty-five ;  his  chief 


354  HISTORY   OP   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

work  being  an  Ecclesiastical  History.  But  though  Latin 
was  the  tongue  in  which  he  wrote  his  books,  he  wrote  one  book 
in  English ;  and  he  may  therefore  be  fairly  considered  the  first 
writer  of  English  prose.  This  book  was  a  Translation  of  the 
Gospel  of  St  John — a  work  which  he  laboured  at  until  the 
very  moment  of  his  death.  His  disciple  Cuthbert  tells  the 
story  of  his  last  hours.  "Write  quickly!"  said  Baeda  to  his 
scribe,  for  he  felt  that  his  end  could  not  be  far  off.  When  the 
last  day  came,  all  his  scholars  stood  around  his  bed.  "  There 
is  still  one  chapter  wanting.  Master,"  said  the  scribe ;  "  it  is 
hard  for  thee  to  think  and  to  speak."  "  It  must  be  done,"  said 
Baeda;  "  take  thy  pen  and  write  quickly."  So  through  the  long 
day  they  wrote — scribe  succeeding  scribe ;  and  when  the  shades 
of  evening  were  coming  on,  the  young  writer  looked  up  from 
his  task  and  said,  "  There  is  yet  one  sentence  to  write,  dear 
Master."  "Write  it  quickly!"  Presently  the  writer,  looking 
up  with  joy,  said,  *'  It  is  finished !  "  "  Thou  sayest  truth," 
replied  the  weary  old  man;  "it  is  finished:  all  is  finished." 
Quietly  he  sank  back  upon  his  pillow,  and,  with  a  psalm  of 
praise  upon  his  lips,  gently  yielded  up  to  God  his  latest  breath. 
It  is  a  great  pity  that  this  translation  —  the  first  piece  of 
prose  in  our  language — is  utterly  lost  JSTo  MS.  of  it  is  at 
present  known  to  be  in  existence. 

9.  The  Father  of  English  Prose. — Eor  several  centuries,  up 
to  the  year  866,  the  valleys  and  shores  of  !N'orthumbria  were 
the  homes  of  learning  and  literature.  But  a  change  was  not 
long  in  coming.  Horde  after  horde  of  Danes  swept  down  upon 
the  coasts,  ravaged  the  monasteries,  burnt  the  books — aftei 
stripping  the  beautiful  bindings  of  the  gold,  silver,  and  precioua 
stones  which  decorated  them — killed  or  drove  away  the  monks, 
and  made  life,  property,  and  thought  insecure  all  along  that  once 
peaceful  and  industrious  coast.  Literature,  then,  was  forced 
to  desert  the  monasteries  of  Korthumbria,  and  to  seek  for  a 
home  in  the  south — in  Wessex,  the  kingdom  over  which  Alfred 
the  Great  reigned  for  more  than  thirty  years.  The  capital  of 
Wessex   was    Winchester ;    and   an   able    writer  says :    "  As 


OUR  OLDEST   ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  355 

"Whitby  is  the  cradle  of  English  poetry,  so  is  Winchester  of 
English  prose."  King  Alfred  founded  colleges,  invited  to 
England  men  of  learning  from  abroad,  and  presided  over  a 
school  for  the  sons  of  his  nobles  in  his  own  Court.  He  himself 
wrote  many  books,  or  rather,  he  translated  the  most  famous 
Latin  books  of  his  time  into  English.  He  translated  into  the 
English  of  Wessex,  for  example,  the  'Ecclesiastical  History' 
of  Baeda;  the  'History  of  Orosius,'  into  which  he  inserted 
geographical  chapters  of  his  own ;  and  the  '  Consolations  of 
Philosophy,'  by  the  famous  Roman  writer,  Boethius.  In  these 
books  he  gave  to  his  people,  in  their  own  tongue,  the  best 
existing  works  on  history,  geography,  and  philosophy. 

10.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle. — The  greatest  prose-work 
of  the  oldest  English,  or  purely  Saxon,  literature,  is  a  work — 
not  by  one  person,  but  by  several  authors.  It  is  the  historical 
work  which  is  known  as  The  Saxon  Chronicle.  It  seems  to 
have  been  begun  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century ;  and 
it  was  continued,  with  breaks  now  and  then,  down  to  1154 — 
the  year  of  the  death  of  Stephen  and  the  accession  of  Henry  11. 
It  was  written  by  a  series  of  successive  writers,  all  of  whom 
were  monks ;  but  Alfred  himself  is  said  to  have  contributed  to 
it  a  narrative  of  his  own  wars  with  the  Danes.  The  Chronicle 
is  found  in  seven  separate  forms,  each  named  after  the  monas- 
tery in  which  it  was  written.  It  was  the  newspaper,  the 
annals,  and  the  history  of  the  nation.  "  It  is  the  first  history 
of  any  Teutonic  people  in  their  own  language ;  it  is  the  earliest 
and  most  venerable  monument  of  English  prose."  This  Chron- 
icle possesses  for  us  a  twofold  value.  It  is  a  valuable  store- 
house of  historical  facts  j  and  it  is  also  a  storehouse  of  speci- 
mens of  the  different  states  of  the  EngHsh  language— as  regards 
both  words  and  grammar  —  from  the  eighth  down  to  the 
twelfth  century. 

11.  Layamon's  Brut. — Layamon  was  a  native  of  Worcester- 
shire, and  a  priest  of  Ernley  on  the  Severn.  He  translated, 
about  the  year  1205,  a  poem  called  Brut,  from  the  French  of 
a  monkish  writer  named  Master  Wace.     Wace's  work  itself  is 


356  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

little  more  than  a  translation  of  parts  of  a  famous  "  Chronicle 
or  History  of  the  Lritons,"  written  in  Latin  by  Geoffrey  of 
Monmouth,  who  was  Bishop  of  St  Asaph  in  1152.  But 
Geoffrey  himself  professed  only  to  have  translated  from  a  chron- 
icle in  the  British  or  Celtic  tongue,  called  the  "  Chronicle  of  the 
Kings  of  Britain,"  which  was  found  in  Brittany — long  the  home 
of  most  of  the  stories,  traditions,  and  fables  about  the  old  Brit- 
ish Kings  and  their  great  deeds.  Layamon's  poem  called  the 
"  Brut "  is  a  metrical  chronicle  of  Britain  from  the  landing  of 
Brutus  to  the  death  of  King  Cadwallader,  about  the  end  of  the 
seventh  century.  Brutus  was  supposed  to  be  a  great-grandson 
of  ^neas,  who  sailed  west  and  west  till  he  came  to  Great 
Britain,  where  he  settled  with  his  followers. — This  metrical 
chronicle  is  written  in  the  dialect  of  the  West  of  England ;  and 
it  shows  everywhere  a  breaking  down  of  the  grammatical  forms 
of  the  oldest  English,  as  we  find  it  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chron- 
icle. In  fact,  between  the  landing  of  the  Normans  and  the 
fourteenth  century,  two  things  may  be  noted  :  first,  that  during 
this  time — that  is,  for  three  centuries — the  inflections  of  the 
oldest  English  are  gradually  and  surely  stripped  off;  and,  sec- 
ondly, that  there  is  little  or  no  original  English  literature  given 
to  the  country,  but  that  by  far  the  greater  part  consists  chiefly 
of  translations  from  French  or  from  Latin. 

12.  Orm's  Ormulum. — Less  than  half  a  century  after  Lay- 
amon's Brut  appeared  a  poem  called  the  Ormulum,  by  a  monk 
of  the  name  of  Orm  or  Ormin.  It  was  probably  written 
about  the  year  1154.  Orm  was  a  monk  of  the  order  of  St 
Augustine,  and  his  book  consists  of  a  series  of  religious  poems. 
It  is  the  oldest,  purest,  and  most  valuable  specimen  of  thirteenth- 
century  English,  and  it  is  also  remarkable  for  its  peculiar 
spelling.  It  is  written  in  the  purest  English,  and  not  five 
French  words  are  to  be  found  in  the  whole  poem  of  twenty 
thousand  short  lines.  Orm,  in  his  spelling,  doubles  every  con- 
sonant that  has  a  short  vowel  before  it ;  and  he  writes  pann  for 
pan^  but  pan  for  pane.  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  his 
poem : — 


OUR   OLDEST   ENGLISH   LITERATURE.  357 

■  Ice  hafe  wennd  inntill  Ennglissh  I  have  wended  (turned)  into  English 

Goddspelless  hallghe  lare,  Gospel's  holy  lore, 

Affterr  thatt  little  witt  tatt  me  After  the  little  wit  that  me 

Min  Drihhtin  hafethth  lenedd.  My  Lord  hath  lent. 

Other  famous  writers  of  English  between  this  time  and  the 
appearance  of  Chaucer  were  Robert  of  Gloucester  and  Robert 
of  Brunne,  both  of  whom  wrote  Chronicles  of  England  in 
verse. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    FOURTEENTH    CENTURY. 

1.  The  opening  of  the  fourteenth  century  saw  the  death  of 
the  great  and  able  king,  Edward  I.,  the  "Hammer  of  the 
Scots,"  the  "  Keeper  of  his  word."  The  century  itself — a  most 
eventful  period — witnessed  the  feeble  and  disastrous  reign  of 
Edward  II. ;  the  long  and  prosperous  rule — for  fifty  years — of 
Edward  III. ;  the  troubled  times  of  Eichard  11. ,  who  exhibited 
almost  a  repetition  of  the  faults  of  Edward  II. ;  and  the 
appearance  of  a  new  and  powerful  dynasty — the  House  of 
Lancaster — in  the  person  of  the  able  and  ambitious  Henry  IV. 
This  century  saw  also  many  striking  events,  and  many  still 
more  striking  changes.  It  beheld  the  welding  of  the  Saxon  and 
the  ISTorman  elements  into  one — chiefly  through  the  Erench 
wars ;  the  final  triumph  of  the  English  language  over  French 
in  1362;  the  frequent  coming  of  the  Black  Death;  the  vic- 
tories of  Crecy  and  Poitiers ;  it  learned  the  universal  use 
of  the  mariner's  compass;  it  witnessed  two  kings— of  France 
and  of  Scotland — prisoners  in  London;  great  changes  in  the 
condition  of  labourers;  the  invention  of  gunpowder  in  1340; 
the  rise  of  English  commerce  under  Edward  III. ;  and  every- 
where in  England  the  rising  up  of  new  powers  and  new  ideas. 

2.  The  first  prose-writer  in  this  century  is  Sir  John  Mande- 
ville  (who  has  been  called  the  "  Father  of  English  Prose"). 
King  Alfred  has  also  been  called  by  this  name;  but  as  the 
English  written  by  Alfred  was  very  different  from  that  written 


THE   FOURTEENTH   CENTURY.  359 

*^by  Mandeville, — the  latter  containing  a  large  admixture  of 
French  and  of  Latin  words,  both  writers  are  deserving  of  the 
epithet.  The  most  influential  prose-writer  was  John  "Wyclif, 
who  was,  in  fact,  the  first  English  Eeformer  of  the  Church. 
In  poetry,  two  writers  stand  opposite  each  other  in  striking 
contrast — Geoffrey  Chaucer  and  "William  Langlande,  the  first 
writing  in  courtly  "  King's  English "  in  end-rhyme,  and  with 
the  fullest  inspirations  from  the  literatures  of  France  and  Italy, 
the  latter  writing  in  head-rhyme,  and — though  using  more 
French  words  than  Chaucer — with  a  style  that  was  always 
homely,  plain,  and  pedestrian  John  Gower,  in  Kent,  and 
John  Barbour,  in  Scotland,  are  also  noteworthy  poets  in  this 
century.  The  English  language  reached  a  high  state  of  polish, 
power,  and  freedom  in  this  period ;  and  the  sweetness  and 
music  of  Chaucer's  verse  are  still  unsurpassed  by  modern  poets. 
The  sentences  of  the  prose-writers  of  this  century  are  long, 
clumsy,  and  somewhat  helpless  ;  but  the  sweet  homely  English 
rhythm  exists  in  many  of  them,  and  was  continued,  through 
Wyclif's  version,  down  into  our  translation  of  the  Bible  in 
1611. 

3.  Sir  John  Mandeville,  (1300-1372),  "  the  first  prose- writer  in 
formed  English,"  was  born  at  St  Albans,  in  Hertfordshire,  in  the  year 
1300.  He  was  a  physician;  but,  in  the  year  1322,  he  set  out  on  a 
journey  to  the  East ;  was  away  from  home  for  more  than  thirty  years, 
and  died  at  Liege,  in  Belgium,  in  1372.  He  wrote  his  travels  first 
in  Latin,  next  in  French,  and  then  turned  them  into  English,  "  that 
every  man  of  my  nation  may  understand  it."  The  book  is  a  kind  of 
guide-book  to  the  Holy  Land  ;  but  the  writer  himself  went  much 
further  east — reached  Cathay  or  China,  in  fact.  He  introduced  a 
large  number  of  French  words  into  our  speech,  such  as  cause,  con- 
trary^ discover,  quantity,  and  many  hundred  others.  His  works  were 
much  admired,  read,  and  copied;  indeed,  hundreds  of  manuscript 
copies  of  his  book  were  made.  There  are  nineteen  still  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum.  The  book  was  not  printed  till  the  year  1499 — that  is, 
twenty-five  years  after  printing  was  introduced  into  this  country. 
Many  of  the  Old  English  inflexions  still  survive  in  his  style.  Thua 
he  says  :  "  Machamete  was  born  in  Arabye,  that  was  a  pore  knave 
(boy)  that  kepte  caimeles  that  went^n  with  marchantes  for  mar- 
chandise." 


360  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATUEE. 

4.  John  "Wyclif  (his  name  is  spelled  in  about  forty  different 
■vvays) — 1324-1384 — was  born  at  Hipswell,  near  Richmond,  in  York- 
shire, in  the  year  1324,  and  died  at  the  vicarage  of  Lutterworth,  in 
Leicestershire,  in  1384.  His  fame  rests  on  two  bases — his  efforts  as 
a  reformer  of  the  abuses  of  the  Church,  and  his  complete  translation 
of  the  Bible.  This  work  was  finished  in  1383,  just  one  year  before 
his  death.  But  the  translation  was  not  done  by  himself  alone  ;  the 
larger  part  of  the  Old  Testament  version  seems  to  have  been  made 
by  Nicholas  de  Hereford.  Though  often  copied  in  manuscript,  it 
was  not  printed  for  several  centuries.  Wyclif  s  New  Testament  was 
printed  in  1731,  and  the  Old  Testament  not  until  the  year  1850. 
But  the  words  and  the  style  of  his  translation,  which  was  read  and 
re-read  by  hundreds  of  thoughtful  men,  were  of  real  and  permanent 
service  in  fixing  the  language  in  the  form  in  which  we  now  find  it. 


•o.  John  Gower  (1325-1408)  was  a  country  gentleman  of  Kent. 
As  Mandevi^le  wrote  his  travels  in  three  languages,  so  did  Gower  his 
poems.  Almost  all  educated  persons  in  the  fourteenth  century  could 
read  and  write  with  tolerable  and  with  almost  equal  ease,  English, 
French,  and  Latin.  His  three  poems  are  the  Speculum  Meditantis 
("The  Mirror  of  the  Thoughtful  Man"),  in  French;  the  Vox 
Clamantis  ("  Voice  of  One  Crying "),  in  Latin  ;  and  Confessio 
Amantis  ("The  Lover's  Confession"),  in  English.  No  manuscript 
of  the  first  work  is  known  to  exist.  He  was  buried  in  St  Saviour's, 
South wark,  where  his  effigy  is  still  to  be  seen — his  head  resting  on 
his  three  works.  Chaucer  called  him  "  the  moral  Gower  " ;  and  his 
books  are  very  dull,  heavy,  and  difficult  to  read. 

6.  William  Langlande  (1332-1400),  a  poet  who  used  the  old 
English  head-rhyme,  as  Chaucer  used  the  foreign  end-rhyme,  was 
born  at  Cleobury-Mortimer  in  Shropshire,  in  the  year  1332.  The 
date  of  his  death  is  doubtful.  His  poem  is  called  the  Vision  of 
Piers  the  Plovvman ;  and  it  is  the  last  long  poem  in  our  literature 
that  was  written  in  Old  English  alliterative  rhyme.  From  this 
period,  if  rhyme  is  employed  at  all,  it  is  the  end-rhyme,  which  we 
borrowed  from  the  French  and  Italians.  The  poem  has  an  appen- 
dix called  Do-well,  Do-bet,  Do-best  —  the  three  stages  in  the 
growth  of  a  Christian.  Langlande's  writings  remained  in  manuscript 
until  the  reign  of  Edward  VI. ;  they  were  printed  then,  and  went 
through  three  editions  in  one  year.  The  English  used  in  the 
Vision  is  the  Midland  dialect — much  the  same  as  that  used  by 
Chaucer ;  only,  oddly  enough,  Langlande  admits  into  his  English  a 


THE  FOUETEENTH   CENTURY.  361 

larger  amount  of  French  words  than  Chaucer.  The  poem  is  a  dis- 
tinct landmark  in  the  history  of  our  speech.  The  following  is  a 
specimen  of  the  lines.  There  are  three  alliterative  words  in  each 
line,  with  a  pause  near  the  middle — 

"  A  voice  lond  in  that  light  '  to  Zucifer  cried, 
*  Princes  of  this  ^^alace   •  ^^rest^  undo  the  gates, 
For  here  cometh  with  crown  •  the  king  of  all  glory ! ' " 


7.  Geoffrey  Chaucer  (1340-1400),  the  "father  of  English 
poetry,"  and  the  greatest  narrative  poet  of  this  country,  was  born 
in  London  in  or  about  the  year  1340.  He  lived  in  the  reigns  of 
Edward  III.,  Richard  II.,  and  one  year  in  the  reign  of  Henry  lY. 
His  father  was  a  vintner.  The  name  Chaucer  is  a  Norman  name, 
and  is  found  on  the  roll  of  Battle  Abbey.  He  is  said  to  have 
studied  both  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  ;  served  as  page  in  the 
household  of  Prince  Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  third  son  of 
Edward  III. ;  served  also  in  the  army,  and  was  taken  prisoner 
in  one  of  the  French  campaigns.  In  1367,  he  was  appointed  gen- 
tleman-in-waiting (valettus)  to  Edward  III.,  who  sent  him  on 
several  embassies.  In  1374  he  married  a  lady  of  the  Queen's 
chamber;  and  by  this  marriage  he  became  connected  with  John 
of  Gaunt,  who  afterwards  married  a  sister  of  this  lady.  Wliile 
on  an  embassy  to  Italy,  he  is  reported  to  have  met  the  great  poet 
Petrarch,  who  told  him  the  story  of  the  Patient  Griselda.  In  1381, 
he  was  made  Comptroller  of  Customs  in  the  great  port  of  London — 
an  office  which  he  held  till  the  year  1386.  In  that  year  he  was 
elected  knight  of  the  shire — that  is,  member  of  Parliament  for  the 
county  of  Kent.  In  1389,  he  was  appointed  Clerk  of  the  King's 
Works  at  Westminster  and  Windsor.  From  1381  to  1389  was  pro- 
bably the  best  and  most  productive  period  of  his  life ;  for  it  was  in 
this  period  that  he  wrote  the  House  of  Fame,  the  Legend  of 
Good  Women,  and  the  best  of  the  Canterbury  Tales.  From 
1390  to  1400  was  spent  in  writing  the  other  Canterbury  Tales, 
ballads,  and  some  moral  poems.  He  died  at  Westminster  in  the 
year  1400,  and  was  the  first  writer  who  was  buiied  in  the  Poets' 
Corner  of  the  Abbey.  We  see  from  his  life — and  it  was  fortunate 
for  his  poetry — that  Chaucer  had  the  most  varied  experience  as 
student,  courtier,  soldier,  ambassador,  olficial,  and  member  of  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  was  able  to  mix  freely  and  on  equal  terms  with  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  men,  from  the  king  to  the  poorest  hind  in  the 
fields.     He  was  a  stout  man,  with  a  small  bright  face,  soft  eyes, 

1  Quickly. 


362  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

dazed  by  long  and  hard  reading,  and  with  the  English  passion  for 
flowers,  green  fields,  and  all  the  sights  and  sounds  of  nature. 

8.  Chaucer's  "Works. — Chaucer's  greatest  work  is  the  Canter- 
bury Tales.  It  is  a  collection  of  stories  Avritten  in  heroic  metre — 
that  is,  in  the  rhymed  couplet  of  five  iambic  feet.  The  finest  part 
of  the  Canterbury  Tales  is  the  Prologue  ;  the  noblest  story  is  pro- 
bably the  Knightes  Tale.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  in  1362, 
when  Chaucer  Avas  a  very  young  man,  the  session  of  the  House 
of  Commons  was  first  opened  with  a  speech  in  English  ;  and  in  the 
same  year  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  substituting  the  use  of 
English  for  French  in  courts  of  law,  in  schools,  and  in  public  offices. 
English  had  thus  triumphed  over  French  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
while  it  had  at  the  same  time  become  saturated  with  French  w^ords. 
In  the  year  1383  the  Bible  was  translated  into  English  by  Wyclif. 
Thus  Chaucer,  whose  writings  were  called  by  Spenser  "  the  Avell  of 
English  undefiled,"  wrote  at  a  time  when  our  English  was  freshest 
and  newest.  The  grammar  of  his  works  shows  English  with  a  large 
number  of  inflexions  still  remaining.  The  Canterbury  Tales  are  a 
series  of  stories  supposed  to  be  told  by  a  number  of  pilgrims  who  are 
on  their  way  to  the  shrine  of  St  Thomas  (Becket)  at  Canterbury. 
The  pilgrims,  thirty-two  in  number,  are  fully  described — their  dress, 
look,  manners,  and  character  in  the  Prologue.  It  had  been  agreed, 
when  they  met  at  the  Tabard  Inn  in  Southwark,  that  each  pilgrim 
should  tell  four  stories — two  going  and  two  returning — as  they  rode 
along  the  grassy  lanes,  then  the  only  roads,  to  the  old  cathedral  city. 
But  only  four-and-twenty  stories  exist. 

9.  Chaucer's  Style. — Chaucer  expresses,  in  the  truest  and  liveliest 
way,  "  the  true  and  lively  of  everything  which  is  set  before  him. ; " 
and  he  first  gave  to  English  poetry  that  force,  vigour,  life,  and 
colour  which  raised  it  above  the  level  of  mere  rhymed  prose.  All 
the  best  poems  and  histories  in  Latin,  French,  and  Italian  were  well 
known  to  Chaucer  ;  and  he  borrows  from  them  with  the  greatest 
freedom.  He  handles,  with  masterly  power,  all  the  characters  and 
events  in  his  Tales ;  and  he  is  hence,  beyond  doubt,  the  greatest 
narrative  poet  that  England  ever  produced.  In  the  Prologue,  his 
masterpiece,  Dryden  says,  "  we  hav^  our  forefathers  and  great-grand- 
dames  all  before  us,  as  they  were  in  Chaucer's  days."  His  dramatic 
power,  too,  is  nearly  as  great  as  his  narrative  power  ;  and  Mr  Marsh 
afiirms  that  he  was  "a  dramatist  before  that  which  is  technically 
known  as  the  existing  drama  had  been  invented."  That  is  to  say, 
he  could  set  men  and  women  talking  as  they  would  and  did  talk  in 
real  life,  but  with  more  point,  spirit,  verve,  and  picturesqueness. 
A-S  regards  the  matter  of  his  poems,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  say  that 


THE  FOUETEENTH   CENTURY.  '3i)'6 

Dryden  calls  him  "  a  perpetual  fountain  of  good  sense  ; "  and  that 
Hazlitt  makes  this  remark  :  "  Chaucer  was  the  most  practical  of  all 
the  great  poets, — the  most  a  man  of  business  and  of  the  world.  His 
poetry  reads  like  history."  Tennyson  speaks  of  him  thus  in  his 
"  Dream  of  Fair  Women  "  : — 

**  Dan  Chaucer,  the  first  warbler,  whose  sweet  breath. 
Preluded  those  melodious  bursts  that  fill 
The  spacious  times  of  great  Elizabeth, 
With  sounds  that  echo  stilL" 


10.  John  Barbour  (1316-1396).— The  earliest  Scottish  poet  of 
any  importance  in  tlie  fourteenth  century  is  John  Barbour,  who  rose 
to  be  Archdeacon  of  Aberdeen.  Barbour  was  of  Norman  blood,  and 
wrote  Northern  English,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  Scotch.  He 
studied  both  at  Oxford  and  at  the  University  of  Paris.  His  chief 
work  is  a  poem  called  The  Bruce.  The  English  of  this  poem  does 
not  differ  very  greatly  from  the  English  of  Chaucer.  Barbofir  has 
fechtand  for  fighting ;  pressit  for  pressed ;  theretill  for  thereto ;  but 
these  differences  do  not  make  the  reading  of  his  poem  very  diffi- 
cult. As  a  Norman  he  was  proud  of  the  doings  of  Eobert  de  Bruce, 
another  Norman  ;  and  Barbour  must  often  have  heard  stories  of 
him  in  bis  boyhood,  as  he  was  only  thirteen  when  Bruce  died. 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY. 


1.  The  fifteenth  century,  a  remarkable  period  in  many  ways, 
saw  three  royal  dynasties  established  in  England — the  Houses 
of  Lancaster,  York,  and  Tudor.  Eive  successful  French  cam- 
paigns of  Henry  Y.,  and  the  battle  of  Agincourt ;  and,  on  the 
other  side,  the  loss  of  all  our  large  possessions  in  France,  with 
the  exception  of  Calais,  under  the  rule  of  the  weak  Henry  VI., 
were  among  the  chief  events  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The 
Wars  of  the  Roses  did  not  contribute  anything  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  century,  nor  could  so  unsettled  and  quarrelsome  a  time 
encourage  the  cultivation  of  literature.  For  this  among  other 
reasons,  we  find  no  great  compositions  in  prose  or  verse  ;  but  a 
considerable  activity  in  the  making  and  distribution  of  ballads. 
The  best  of  these  are  Sir  Patrick  Spans,  Edom  o'  Gordon, 
The  Nut-Brown  Mayde,  and  some  of  those  written  about 
Robin  Hood  and  his  exploits.  The  ballad  was  everywhere 
popular  ;  and  minstrels  sang  them  in  every  city  and  village 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  England.  The  famous  bal- 
lad of  Chevy  Chase  is  generally  placed  after  the  year  1460, 
though  it  did  not  take  its  present  form  till  the  seventeenth 
century.  It  tells  the  story  of  the  Battle  of  Otterburn,  which 
was  fought  in  1388.  This  century  was  also  witness  to  the 
short  struggle  of  Richard  III.,  followed  by  the  rise  of  the 
House  of  Tudor.  And,  in  1498,  just  at  its  close,  the  won- 
derful  apparition  of  a  new  world — of  The   New  World — 


THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY.  365 

rose  on  the  horizon  of  the  English  mind,  for  England  then  first 
heard  of  the  discovery  of  America.  But,  as  regards  thinking 
and  "writing,  the  fifteenth  century  is  the  most  barren  in  our 
literature.  It  is  the  most  barren  in  the  production  of  original 
literature ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is,  compared  with  all  the 
centuries  that  preceded  it,  the  most  fertile  in  the  dissemination 
and  distribution  of  the  literature  that  already  existed.  Eor 
England  saw,  in  the  memorable  year  of  1474,  the  establishment 
of  the  first  printing-press  in  the  Almonry  at  Westminster,  by 
William  Caxton.  The  first  book  printed  by  him  in  this  country 
was  called  *  The  Game  and  Playe  of  the  Chesse.'  When  Edward 
IV.  and  his  friends  visited  Caxton's  house  and  looked  at  his 
printing-press,  they  spoke  of  it  as  a  pretty  toy;  they  could  not 
foresee  that  it  was  destined  to  be  a  more  powerful  engine  of  good 
government  and  the  spread  of  thought  and  education  than  the 
Crown,  Parliaments,  and  courts  of  law  all  put  together.  The 
two  greatest  names  in  literature  in  the  fifteenth  century  are 
those  of  James  I.  (of  Scotland)  and  "William  Caxton  himself. 
Two  followers  of  Chaucer,  Occleve  and  Lydgate  are  also  gen- 
erally mentioned.  Put  shortly,  one  might  say  that  the  chief 
poetical  productions  of  this  century  were  its  ballads ;  and  the 
chief  prose  productions,  translations  from  Latin  or  from  foreign 
works. 

2.  James  I.  of  Scotland  (1394-1437),  though  a  Scotchman,  owed 
his  education  to  England.  He  was  born  in  1394.  Whilst  on  his 
way  to  France  when  a  boy  of  eleven,  he  was  captured,  in  time  of 
peace,  by  the  order  of  Henry  IV.,  and  kept  prisoner  in  England  for 
about  eighteen  years.  It  was  no  great  misfortune,  for  he  received 
from  Henry  the  best  education  that  England  could  then  give  in 
language,  literature,  music,  and  all  knightly  accomplishments.  He* 
married  Lady  Jane  Beaufort,  the  grand-daughter  of  John  of  Gaunt, 
the  friend  and  patron  of  Chaucer.  His  best  and  longest  poem  is 
The  Kings  Quair  (that  is,  Book),  a  poem  which  was  inspired  by 
the  subject  of  it,  Lady  Jane  Beaufort  herself.  The  poem  is  written 
in  a  stanza  of  seven  lines  (called  Rime  Royal);  and  the  style  is 
a  close  copy  of  the  style  of  Chaucer.  After  reigning  thirteen  years 
in  Scotland,  King  James  was  murdered  at  Perth,  in  the  year  1437. 
A  Norman  by  blood,  he  is  the  best  poet  of  the  fifteenth  century. 


366  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH   LITER ATUKE. 

3.  William  Caxton  (1422-1492)  is  llie  name  of  greatest  import- 
ance and  significance  in  the  history  of  our  literature  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  He  was  born  in  Kent  in  the  year  1422.  He  was  not  merely 
a  printer,  he  was  also  a  literary  man ;  and,  when  he  devoted  himself 
to  printing,  he  took  to  it  as  an  art,  and  not  as  a  mere  mechanical 
device.  Caxton  in  early  life  was  a  mercer  in  the  city  of  London ; 
and  in  the  course  of  his  business,  which  was  a  thriving  one,  he  had 
to  make  frequent  journeys  to  the  Low  Countries.  Here  he  saw  the 
printing-press  for  the  first  time,  with  the  new  separate  types, 
was  enchanted  with  it,  and  fired  by  the  wonderful  future  it  opened. 
It  had  been  introduced  into  Holland  about  the  year  1450.  Caxton's 
press  was  set  up  in  the  Almonry  at  "Westminster,  at  the  sign  of  the 
Bed  Pole.  It  produced  in  all  sixty-four  books,  nearly  all  of  them  in 
English,  some  of  them  written  by  Caxton  himself.  One  of  the  n^^ost 
important  of  them  was  Sir  Thomas  Malory's  History  of  King 
Arthur,  the  storehouse  from  which  Tennyson  drew  the  stories 
which  form  the  groundwork  of  his  Idylls  of  the  King. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY. 


1.  The  Wars  of  the  Eoses  ended  in  1485,  with  the  victory  of 
Bosworth  Field.  A  new  dynasty — the  House  of  Tudor — sat 
upon  the  throne  of  England ;  and  with  it  a  new  reign  of  peace 
and  order  existed  in  the  country,  for  the  power  of  the  king  was 
paramount,  and  the  power  of  the  nobles  had  been  gradually 
destroyed  in  the  numerous  battles  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
Like  the  fifteenth,  this  century  also  is  famous  for  its  ballads,  the 
authors  of  which  are  not  known,  but  which  seem  to  have  been 
composed  "by  the  people  for  the  people."  They  were  sung 
everywhere,  at  fairs  and  feasts,  in  town  and  country,  at  going  to 
and  coming  home  from  work ;  and  many  of  them  were  set  to 
popular  dance-tunes. 

"When  Tom  came  home  from  labour, 
And  Cis  from  milking  rose, 
Merrily  went  the  tabor, 

And  merrily  went  their  toes." 

The  ballads  of  King  Lear  and  The  Babes  in  the  "Wood  are 

perhaps  to  be  referred  to  this  period. 

2.  The  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  saw  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era  in  poetry ;  and  the  last  half  saw  the  full  meridian 
splendour  of  this  new  era.  The  beginning  of  this  era  was 
marked  by  the  appearance  of  Sir  Thomas  "Wyatt  (1503-1542), 
and  of  the  Earl  of  Surrey  (1517-1547).     These  two  eminent 


368  HISTOKY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

^vTite^s  have  been  called  the  "twin-stars  of  the  dawn,"  the 
"founders  of  English  lyrical  poetry";  and  it  is  worthy  of 
especial  note,  that  it  is  to  Wyatt  that  we  owe  the  introduction 
of  the  Sonnet  into  our  literature,  and  to  Surrey  that  is  due  the 
introduction  of  Blank  Verse.  The  most  important  prose- 
writers  of  the  first  half  of  the  century  Avere  Sir  Thomas  More, 
the  great  lawyer  and  statesman,  and  "William  Tyndale,  who 
translated  the  New  Testament  into  English.  In  the  latter  half 
of  the  century,  the  great  poets  are  Spenser  and  Shakespeare ; 
the  great  prose-writers,  Richard  Hooker  and  Francis  Bacon. 


3.  Sir  Thomas  More's  (1480-1535)  chief  work  in  English  is  the 
Life  and  Reign  of  Edward  V.  It  is  written  in  a  plain,  strong, 
nervous  English  style.  Hallam  calls  it  "  the  first  example  of  good 
English — pure  and  perspicuous,  well  chosen,  without  vulgarisms,  and 
without  pedantry."  His  Utopia  (a  description  of  the  country  of 
Nowhere)  was  written  in  Latin. 

4.  William  Tyndale  (1484-1536) — a  man  of  the  greatest  signifi- 
cance, both  in  the  history  of  religion,  and  in  the  history  of  our  lan- 
guage and  literature — was  a  native  of  Gloucestershire,  and  was 
educated  at  Magdalen  Hall,  Oxford.  His  opinions  on  religion  and 
the  rule  of  the  Catholic  Church,  compelled  him  to  leave  England, 
and  drove  him  to  the  Continent  in  the  year  1523.  He  lived  in 
Hamburg  for  some  time.  With  the  German  and  Swiss  reformers 
he  held  that  the  Bible  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  grown-up 
person,  and  not  in  the  exclusive  keeping  of  the  Church.  He  ac- 
cordingly set  to  work  to  translate  the  Scriptures  into  his  native 
tongue.  Two  editions  of  his  version  of  the  New  Testament  were 
printed  in  1525-34.  He  next  translated  the  five  books  of  Moses,  and 
the  book  of  Jonah.  In  1535  he  was,  after  many  escapes  and  ad- 
ventures, finally  tracked  and  hunted  down  by  an  emissary  of  the 
Pope's  faction,  and  thrown  into  prison  at  the  castle  of  Yilvoorde, 
near  Brussels.  In  1536  he  was  brought  to  Antwerp,  tried,  con- 
demned, led  to  the  stake,  strangled,  and  burned. 

5.  The  "Work  of  William  Tjmdale.  —  Tyndale's  translation 
has,  since  the  time  of  its  appearance,  formed  the  basis  of  all  the 
after  versions  of  the  Bible.  It  is  written  in  the  purest  and  simplest 
English ;  and  very  few  of  the  words  used  in  his  translation  Lave 
grown  obsolete  in  our  modern  speech.     Tyndale's  work  is  indeed, 


THE    SIXTEENTH   CENTURY.  369 

one  of  the  most  striking  landmarks  in  the  history  of  our  language. 
Mr  Marsh  says  of  it :  "  Tyndale's  translation  of  the  New  Testament 
is  the  most  important  philological  monument  of  the  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century, — perhaps  I  should  say,  of  the  whole  period  be- 
tween Chaucer  and  Shakespeare.  .  .  .  The  best  features  of  the 
translation  of  1611  are  derived  from  the  version  of  Tyndale."  It  may 
be  said  without  exaggeration  that,  in  the  United  Kingdom,  America, 
and  the  colonies,  about  one  hundred  millions  of  people  now  speak 
the  English  of  Tyndale's  Bible;  nor  is  there  any  book  that  has 
exerted  so  great  an  influence  on  English  rhythm,  English  style,  the 
selection  of  words,  and  the  build  of  sentences  in  our  English 
prose. 

6.  Edmund  Spenser  (1552-1599),  "  The  Poet's  Poet,"  and  one  of 
the  greatest  poetical  writers  of  his  own  or  of  any  age,  was  born  at 
East  Smithfield,  near  the  Tower  of  London,  in  the  year  1552,  about 
nine  years  before  the  birth  of  Bacon,  and  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI. 
He  was  educated  at  Merchant  Taylors'  School  in  London,  and  at 
Pembroke  Hall,  Cambridge.  In  1579,  we  find  him  settled  in  his 
native  city,  where  his  best  friend  was  the  gallant  Sir  Philip  Sidney, 
who  introduced  him  to  his  uncle,  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  then  at  the 
height  of  his  power  and  influence  with  Queen  Elizabeth.  In  the 
same  year  was  published  his  first  poetical  work,  The  Sheplieard*s 
Calendar — a  set  of  twelve  pastoral  poems.  In  1580,  he  went  to 
Ireland  as  Secretary  to  Lord  Grey  de  Wilton,  the  Viceroy  of  that 
country.  Eor  some  years  he  resided  at  Kilcolman  Castle,  in  county 
Cork,  on  an  estate  which  had  been  granted  him  out  of  the  forfeited 
lands  of  the  Earl  of  Desmond.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  had  obtained  a 
similar  but  larger  grant,  and  was  Spenser's  near  neighbour.  In  1590 
Spenser  brought  out  the  first  three  books  of  The  Faerie  Queens. 
The  second  three  books  of  his  great  poem  appeared  in  1596.  To- 
wards the  end  of  1 598,  a  rebellion  broke  out  in  Ireland ;  it  spread 
into  Munster  ;  Spenser's  house  was  attacked  and  set  on  fire  ;  in  the 
fighting  and  confusion  his  only  son  perished ;  and  Spenser  escaped 
with  the  greatest  difficulty.  In  deep  distress  of  body  and  mind,  he 
made  his  way  to  London,  where  he  died — at  an  inn  in  King  Street, 
Westminster,  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1599.  He  was  buried  in  the  Abbey,  not  far  from  the  grave  of 
Chaucer. 

7.  Spenser's  Style. — His  greatest  work  is  The  Faerie  Queene  ; 
but  that  in  which  he  shows  the  most  striking  command  of  language 
is  his  Hymn  of  Heavenly  Love.  The  Faerie  Queene  is  written 
in  a  nine-lined  stanza,  which  has  since  been  called  the  Spenserian 


370  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

Stanza.  The  first  eight  lines  are  of  the  usual  length  of  five  iambic 
feet ;  the  last  line  contains  six  feet,  and  is  therefore  an  Alexandrine. 
Each  stanza  contains  only  three  rhymes,  which  are  disposed  in  this 
order:  abahbcbc  c. — The  music  of  the  stanza  is  long-drawn  out, 
beautiful,  involved,  and  even  luxuriant. — The  story  of  the  poem  is 
an  allegory,  like  the  '  Pilgrim's  Progress ' ;  and  in  it  Spenser  under- 
took, he  says,  "  to  represent  all  the  moral  virtues,  assigning  to  every 
virtue  a  knight  to  be  the  patron  and  defender  of  the  same."  ^  Only 
six  books  were,  completed  ;  and  these  relate  the  adventures  of  the 
knights  who  stand  for  Holiness^  Temperance,  Chastity,  Friendship, 
Justice,  and  Courtesy.  The  Faerie  Queene  herself  is  called 
Gloriana,  who  represents  Glory  in  his  "general  intention,"  and 
Queen  Elizabeth  in  his  "  particular  intention." 

8.  Character  of  th.e  Faerie  Queene. — This  poem  is  the  greatest 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Spenser  has  not  only  been  the  delight  of 
nearly  ten  generations ;  he  was  the  study  of  Shakespeare,  the  poet- 
ical master  of  Cowley  and  of  Milton,  and,  in  some  sense,  of  Dryden 
and  Pope.  Keats,  when  a  boy,  was  never  tired  of  reading  him. 
"There  is  something,"  says  Pope,  "in  Spenser  that  pleases  one  as 
strongly  in  old  age  as  it  did  in  one's  youth."  Professor  Craik  says  : 
"  Without  calling  Spenser  the  greatest  of  all  poets,  we  may  still  say 
that  his  poetry  is  the  most  poetical  of  all  poetry."  The  outburst  of 
national  feeling  after  the  defeat  of  the  Armada  in  1588;  the  new 
lands  opened  up  by  our  adventurous  Devonshire  sailors  ;  the  strong 
and  lively  loyalty  of  the  nation  to  the  queen ;  the  great  statesmen 
and  writers  of  the  period ;  the  high  daring  shown  by  England 
against  Spain — all  these  animated  and  inspired  the  glowing  genius 
of  Spenser.  His  rhythm  is  singularly  sweet  and  beautiful.  Hazlitt 
says  :  "  His  versification  is  at  once  the  most  smooth  and  the  most 
sounding  in  the  language.  It  is  a  labyrinth  of  sweet  sounds." 
Nothing  can  exceed  the  wealth  of  Spenser's  phrasing  and  expression ; 
there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  its  flow.  He  is  very  fond  of  the  Old- 
English  practice  of  alliteration  or  head-rhyme — "  hunting  the  letter," 
as  it  was  called.     Thus  he  has — 

**  In  woods,  in  waves,  in  wars,  she  wont  to  dwell. 
Gay  without  good  is  good  heart's  greatest  loathing." 

9.  William  Shakespeare  (1564-1616),  the  greatest  dramatist 
that  England  ever  produced,  was  born  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  in 
Warwickshire,  on  the  23d  of  April — St  George's  Day — of  the  year 
1564.     His  father,  John  Shakespeare,  was  a  wool  dealer  and  grower. 

1  This  use  of  the  phrase  "the  same  "  is  antiquated  English. 


THE   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY.  371 

William  was  educated  at  tlie  grammar-school  of  the  town,  where  he 
learned  "  small  Latin  and  less  Greek "  ;  and  this  slender  stock,  was 
his  only  scholastic  outfit  for  life.  At  the  early  age  of  eighteen  he 
married  Anne  Hathaway,  a  yeoman's  daughter.  In  1586,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  he  quitted  his  native  town,  and  went  to  London. 

10.  Shakespeare's  Life  and  Character. — He  was  employed  in 
some  menial  capacity  at  the  Blackfriars  Theatre,  but  gradually  rose  to 
be  actor  and  also  adapter  of  plays.  He  was  connected  with  the 
theatre  for  about  five-and-twenty  years;  and  so  diligent  and  so 
successful  was  he,  that  he  was  able  to  purchase  shares  both  in  his 
own  theatre  and  in  the  Globe.  As  an  actor,  he  was  only  second- 
rate  :  the  two  parts  he  is  known  to  have  played  are  those  of  the 
GJwst  in  Hamlet,  and  Adam  in  As  You  Like  It.  In  1597,  at 
the  early  age  of  thirty -three,  he  was  able  to  purchase  New  Place,  in 
Stratford,  and  to  rebuild  the  house.  In  1612,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight,  he  left  London  altogether,  and  retired  for  the  rest  of  his  life 
to  New  Place,  where  he  died  in  the  year  1616.  His  old  father  and 
mother  spent  the  last  years  of  their  lives  with  him,  and  died  under 
Ms  roof.  Shakespeare  h^d  three  children  —  two  girls  and  a  boy. 
The  boy,  Hamnet,  died  at  the  age  of  twelve.  Shakespeare  himself 
was  beloved  by  every  one  who  knew  him ;  and  "  gentle  Shake- 
speare "  was  the  phrase  most  often  upon  the  lips  of  his  friends.  A 
placid  face,  with  a  sweet,  mild  expression;  a  high,  broad,  noble, 
"  two  -  storey  "  forehead ;  bright  eyes  ;  a  most  speaking  mouth  — 
though  it  seldom  opened ;  an  open,  frank  manner,  a  kindly,  hand- 
some look, — such  seems  to  have  been  the  external  character  of  the 
man  Shakespeare. 

11.  Shakespeare's  Works. — He  has  written  thirty-seven  plays 
and  many  poems.  The  best  of  his  rhymed  poems  are  his  Sonnets,  in 
which  he  chronicles  many  of  the  various  moods  of  his  mind.  The 
plays  consist  of  tragedies,  historical  plays,  and  comedies.  The 
greatest  of  his  tragedies  are  probably  Hamlet  and  King  Lear; 
the  best  of  his  historical  plays,  Richard  IIL  and  Julius  Caesar ; 
and  his  finest  comedies.  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  and  As 
You  Like  It.  He  wrote  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  as  well  as 
in  that  of  James ;  but  his  greatest  works  belong  to  the  latter 
period. 

12.  Shakespeare's  Style. — Every  one  knows  that  Shakespeare 
is  great  ;  but  how  is  the  young  learner  to  discover  the  best  way 
of  forming  an  adequate  idea  of  his  greatness  ?  In  the  first  place, 
Shakespeare  has  very  many  sides  ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  he  is 
great  on  every  one  of  them.  Coleridge  says  :  "  In  all  points,  from 
the  most  important  to  the  most  minute,  the  judgment  of  Shakespeare 


372  HISTORY  OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

is  commensurate  vnth.  his  genius — nay,  Ms  genius  reveals  itself  in 
his  judgment,  as  in  its  most  exalted  form."  He  has  been  called 
"  mellifluous  Shakespeare ; "  "  honey-tongued  Shakespeare ; "  "  silver- 
tongued  Shakespeare ; "  "  the  thousand-souled  Shakespeare ; "  "  the 
myriad-minded ; "  and  by  many  other  epithets.  He  seems  to  have 
been  master  of  all  human  experience  ;  to  have  known  the  human 
heart  in  all  its  phases  ;  to  have  been  acquainted  with  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men — high  and  low,  rich  and  poor ;  and  to  have  studied 
the  history  of  past  ages,  and  of  other  countries.  He  also  shows  a 
greater  and  more  highly  skilled  mastery  over  language  than  any 
other  writer  that  ever  lived.  The  vocabulary  employed  by  Shake- 
speare amounts  in  number  of  words  to  twenty-one  thousand.  The 
vocabulary  of  Milton  numbers  only  seven  thousand  words.  But  it 
is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  Shakespeare's  power  of  thought,  of  feel- 
ing, and  of  expression  required  three  times  the  number  of  words 
to  express  itself ;  we  must  also  say  that  Shakespeare's  power  of  ex- 
pression shows  infinitely  greater  skill,  subtlety,  and  cunning  than 
is  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  Milton.  Shakespeare  had  also  a  mar- 
vellous power  of  making  new  phrases,  most  of  which  have  become 
part  and  parcel  of  our  language.  Such  phrases  as  every  inch  a  king  ; 
witch  the  world;  the  time  is  out  of  joint,  and  hundreds  more,  show 
that  modern  Englishmen  not  only  speak  Shakespeare,  but  think 
Shakespeare.  His  knowledge  of  human  nature  has  enabled  him  to 
throw  into  English  literature  a  larger  number  of  genuine  "  char- 
acters "  that  will  always  live  in  the  thoughts  of  men,  than  any  other 
author  that  ever  wrote.  And  he  has  not  drawn  his  characters  from 
England  alone  and  from  his  own  time — but  from  Greece  and  Rome, 
from  other  countries,  too,  and  also  from  all  ages.  He  has  written  in 
a  greater  variety  of  styles  than  any  other  waiter.  "Shakespeare," 
says  Professor  Craik,  "has  invented  twenty  styles."  The  know- 
ledge, too,  that  he  shows  on  every  kind  of  human  endeavour  is  as 
accurate  as  it  is  varied.  Lawyers  say  that  he  was  a  great  lawyer ; 
theologians,  that  he  was  an  able  divine,  and  unequalled  in  his  know- 
ledge of  the  Bible ;  printers,  that  he  must  have  been  a  printer ;  and 
seamen,  that  he  knew  every  branch  of  the  sailor's  craft. 

13.  Shakespeare's  contemporaries. — But  we  are  not  to  suppose 
that  Shakespeare  stood  alone  in  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seventeenth  century  as  a  great  poet ;  and  that  everything 
else  was  flat  and  low  around  him.  This  never  is  and  never  can  be 
the  case.  Great  genius  is  the  possession,  not  of  one  man,  but  of 
several  in  a  great  age  ;  and  we  do  not  find  a  great  writer  standing 
alone  and  unsupported,  just  as  we  do  not  find  a  high  mountain  rising 


THE   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY.  373 

from  a  low  plain.  The  largest  group  of  the  highest  mountains  in  the 
world,  the  Himalayas,  rise  from  the  highest  table-land  in  the  world ; 
and  peaks  nearly  as  high  as  the  highest — Mount  ^Everest — are  seen 
cleaving  the  blue  sky  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mount  Everest  itself. 
And  so  we  find  Shakespeare  surrounded  by  dramatists  in  some  re- 
spects nearly  as  great  as  himself;  for  the  same  great  forces  welling 
up  within  the  heart  of  England  that  made  him  created  also  the 
others.  Marlowe,  the  teacher  of  Shakespeare,  Peele,  and  Greene, 
preceded  him  ;  Ben  Jonson,  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Massinger 
and  Ford,  Webster,  Chapman,  and  many  others,  were  his  con- 
temporaries, lived  with  him,  talked  with  him ;  and  no  doubt  each  of 
these  men  influenced  the  work  of  the  others.  But  the  works  of  these 
men  belong  chiefly  to  the  seventeenth  century.  We  must  riot,  how- 
ever, forget  that  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth — called  in  literature 
the  Elizabethan  Period — was  the  greatest  that  England  ever  saw, 
— greatest  in  poetry  and  in  prose,  greatest  in  thought  and  in  action, 
and  perhaps  also  greatest  in  external  events. 


14.  Christopher  Marlowe  (1564-1593),  the  first  great  English 
dramatist,  was  born  at  Canterbury  in  the  year  1564,  two  months 
before  the  birth  of  Shakespeare  himself.  He  studied  at  Corpus 
Christi  College,  Cambridge,  and  took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
in  1587.  After  leaving  the  university,  he  came  up  to  London  and 
wrote  for  the  stage.  He  seems  to  have  led  a  wild  and  reckless  life, 
and  was  stabbed  in  a  tavern  brawl  on  the  1st  of  June  1593.  "  As  he 
may  be  said  to  have  invented  and  made  the  verse  of  the  drama,  so 
he  created  the  English  drama."  His  chief  plays  are  Dr  Faustus 
and  Edward  the  Second.  His  style  is  one  of  the  greatest  vigour 
and  power  :  it  is  often  coarse,  but  it  is  always  strong.  Ben  Jonson 
spoke  of  "  Marlowe's  mighty  line"  ;  and  Lord  Jeffrey  says  of  him: 
"  In  felicity  of  thought  and  strength  of  expression,  he  is  second  only 
to  Shakespeare  himself." 


15.  Ben  Jonson  (1573-1637),  the  greatest  dramatist  of  England 
after  Shakespeare,  was  born  in  Westminster  in  the  year  1573,  just 
nine  years  after  Shakespeare's  birth.  He  received  his  education  at 
Westminster  School.  It  is  said  that,  after  leaving  school,  he  wa3 
obliged  to  assist  his  stepfather  as  a  bricklayer;  that  he  did  not  like 
the  work ;  and  that  he  ran  off  to  the  Low  Countries,  and  there  en- 
listed as  a  soldier.     On  his  return  to  London,  he  began  to  write  for 


374  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH   LITERAXmiE. 

tlie  stage.  Jonson  was  a  friend  and  companion  of  Shakespeare's  ; 
and  at  the  Mermaid,  in  Fleet  Street,  they  had,  in  presence  of  men 
like  Raleigh,  Marlowe,  Greene,  Peele,  and  other  distinguished 
Englishmen,  many  "  wit  -  combats "  together.  Jonson's  greatest 
plays  are  Volpone  or  the  Fox,  and  the  Alchemist  —  both 
comedies.  In  1616  he  was  created  Poet  -  Laureate.  For  many 
years  he  was  in  receipt  of  a  pension  from  James  I.  and  from  Charles 
I.  ;  but  so  careless  and  profuse  were  his  habits,  that  lie  died  in 
poverty  in  the  year  1637.  He  was  buried  in  an  upright  position  in 
Westminster  Abbey  ;  and  the  stone  over  his  grave  still  bears  the 
inscription,  "  0  rare  Ben  Jonson  !  "  He  has  been  called  a  "  robust, 
surly,  and  observing  dramatist." 

16.  Richard  Hooker  (1553-1600),  one  of  tbe  greatest  of  Eliza- 
bethan prose-writers,  was  born  at  Heavitree,  a  village  near  the  city 
of  Exeter,  in  the  year  1553.  By  the  kind  aid  of  Jewel,  Bishop  of 
Salisbury,  he  was  sent  to  Oxford,  wbere  he  .distinguished  himself 
as  a  hard-working  student,  and  especially  for  his  knowledge  of 
Hebrew.  In  1581  he  entered  the  Church.  In  the  same  year  he 
made  an  imprudent  marriage  with  an  ignorant,  coarse,  vulgar,  and 
domineering  woman.  He  was  appointed  Master  of  the  Temple  in 
1585 ;  but,  by  his  own  request,  he  was  removed  from  that  office, 
and  chose  the  quieter  living  of  Boscombe,  near  Salisbury.  Here 
he  wrote  the  first  four  books  of  his  famous  work.  The  Laws 
of  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  which  were  published  in  the  year  1594. 
In  1595  he  was  translated  to  the  li\dng  of  Bishopsborne,  near  Can- 
terbury. His  death  took  place  in  the  year  1600.  The  complete 
work,  which  consisted  of  eight  books,  was  not  published  till  1662. 

17.  Hooker's  Style. — His  writings  are  said  to  "mark  an  era  in 
English  prose."  His  sentences  are  generally  very  long,  very  elab- 
orate, but  full  of  "  an  extraordinary  musical  richness  of  language." 
The  order  is  often  more  like  that  of  a  Latin  than  of  an  English 
sentence  ;  and  he  is  fond  of  Latin  inversions.  Thus  he  writes  : 
"  That  which  by  wisdom  he  saw  to  be  requisite  for  that  people,  was 
by  as  great  wisdom  compassed."  The  following  sentences  give  us  a 
good  example  of  his  sweet  and  musical  rhythm.  "  Of  law  there  can 
be  no  less  acknowledged,  than  that  her  seat  is  the  bosom  of  God,  her 
voice  the  harmony  of  the  world.  All  things  in  heaven  and  earth  do 
her  homage  ;  the  very  least  as  feeling  her  care,  and  the  greatest  as 
not  exempted  from  her  power :  both  angels  and  men,  and  creatures 
of  what  condition  soever,  though  each  in  different  sort  and  manner, 
yet  all,  with  uniform  consent,  admiring  her  as  the  mother  of  their 
peace  and  joy." 


THE   SIXTEENTH   CENTUEY.  375 

18.  Sir  Philip  Sidney  (1554-1586),  a  noble  knight,  a  states- 
man, and  one  of  the  best  prose-writers  of  the  Elizabethan  age,  was 
born  at  Penshurst,  in  Kent,  in  the  year  1554.  He  was  educated  at 
Shrewsbury  School,  and  then  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  At  the 
Qge  of  seventeen  he  went  abroad  for  three  years'  travel  on  the  Con- 
tinent ;  and,  while  in  Paris,  witnessed,  from  the  windows  of  the 
English  Embassy,  the  horrible  Massacre  of  St  Bartholomew  in  the 
year  1572.  At  the  early  age  of  twenty-two  he  was  sent  as  am- 
i)assador  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany;  and  while  on  that  embassy, 
he  met  William  of  Orange — "  William  the  Silent " — who  pronounced 
him  one  of  the  ripest  statesmen  in  Europe.  This  was  said  of  a  young 
man  '•'  who  seems  to  have  been  the  type  of  what  was  noblest  in  the 
youth  of  England  during  times  that  could  produce  a  statesman." 
In  1580  he  wrote  the  Arcadia,  a  romance,  and  dedicated  it  to  his 
Bister,  the  Countess  of  Pembroke.  The  year  after,  he  produced  his 
Apologie  for  Poetrie.  His  policy  as  a  statesman  was  to  side  with 
Protestant  rulers,  and  to  break  the  power  of  the  strongest  Catholic 
kingdom  on  the  Continent — the  power  of  Spain.  In  1585  the 
Queen  sent  him  to  the  Netherlands  as  governor  of  the  important 
fortress  of  Flushing.  He  was  mortally  wounded  in  a  skirmish  at 
Zutphen  ;  and  as  he  was  being  carried  off  the  field,  handed  to  a 
private  the  cup  of  cold  water  that  had  been  brought  to  quench  his 
raging  thirst.  He  died  of  his  wounds  on  the  17th  of  October  1586. 
One  of  his  friends  wrote  of  him  : — 

*'  Death,  courage,  honour,  make  thy  soul  to  live  ! — 
Thy  soul  in  heaven,  thy  name  in  tongues  of  men  !  " 

19.  Sidney's  Poetry. — In  addition  to  the  Arcadia  and  the 
Apologie  for  Poetrie,  Sidney  wrote  a  number  of  beautiful  poems. 
The  best  of  these  are  a  series  of  sonnets  called  Astrophel  and 
Stella,  of  which  his  latest  critic  says  :  "  As  a  series  of  sonnets,  the 
Astrophel  and  Stella  poems  are  second  only  to  Shakespeare's  ;  as 
a  series  of  love -poems,  they  are  perhaps  unsurpassed."  Spenser 
wrote  an  elegy  upon  Sidney  himself,  under  the  title  of  Astrophel. 
Sidney's  prose  is  among  the  best  of  the  sixteenth  century.  "  He  reads 
more  modern  than  any  other  author  of  that  century."  He  does  not 
iise  "  ink-horn  terms,"  or  cram  his  sentences  with  Latin  or  French  or 
Italian  words  ;  but  both  his  words  and  his  idioms  are  of  pure  English. 
He  is  fond  of  using  personifications.  Such  phrases  as,  "  About  the 
time  that  the  candles  began  to  inherit  the  sun's  office ; "  "  Seeing  the 
day  begin  to  disclose  her  comfortable  beauties,"  are  not  uncommon. 
The  rhythm  of  his  sentences  is  always  melodious,  and  each  of  them 
has  a  very  pleasant  close. 


CHAPTEE    V. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 


1.  The  First  Half. — Under  the  wise  and  able  rule  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  this  country  had  enjoyed  a  long  term  of  peace.  The 
Spanish  Armada  had  been  defeated  in  1588;  the  Spanish  power 
had  gradually  waned  before  the  growing  might  of  England ;  and 
it  could  be  said  with  perfect  truth,  in  the  words  of  Shake- 
speare : — 

"In  her  days  every  man  doth  eat  in  safety 
Under  his  own  vine  what  he  plants,  and  sing 
The  merry  songs  of  peace  to  all  his  neighbours." 

The  country  was  at  peace ;  and  every  peaceful  art  and  pursuit 
prospered.  As  one  sign  of  the  great  prosperity  and  outstretch- 
ing enterprise  of  commerce,  we  should  note  the  foundation  of 
the  East  India  Company  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  1600.  The 
reign  of  James  I.  (1603-1625)  was  also  peaceful;  and  the 
country  made  steady  progress  in  industries,  in  commerce,  and  in 
the  arts  and  sciences.  The  two  greatest  prose-writers  of  the 
first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  were  Raleigh  and  Bacon ; 
the  two  greatest  poets  were  Shakespeare  and  Ben  Jonson. 


2.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  (1552-1618). — Walter  Raleigh,  soldier, 
statesman,  coloniser,  historian,  and  poet,  was  born  in  Devonshire,  in 
the  year  1552.  He  was  sent  to  Oriel  College,  Oxford ;  but  he  left  at 
the  early  age  of  seventeen  to  fight  on  the  side  of  the  Protestants  in 
France.     From  that  time  his  life  is  one  long  series  of  schemes,  plots, 


^ 


-SAUfijnJ^^^^'  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  377 

ndventures,  and  misfortunes — culminating  in  his  execution  at  West- 
minster in  the  year  1618.  He  spent  "  the  evening  of  a  tempestuous 
life  "  in  the  Tower,  where  he  lay  for  thirteen  years ;  and  during  this 
imprisonment  he  wrote  his  greatest  work,  the  History  of  the 
"World,  which  was  never  finished.  His  life  and  adventures  be- 
long to  the  sixteenth ;  his  works  to  the  seventeenth  century. 
Raleigh  was  probably  the  most  dazzling  figure  of  his  time ;  and  is 
"  in  a  singular  degree  the  representative  of  the  vigorous  versatility 
of  the  Elizabethan  period."  Spenser,  whose  neighbour  he  was  for 
some  time  in  Ireland,  thought  highly  of  his  poetry,  calls  him  "  the 
summer's  nightingale,"  and  says  of  him — 

**  Yet  semulingi  my  song,  he  took  in  hand 
My  pipe,  before  that  aemuled  of  many, 
And  played  thereon  (for  well  that  skill  he  conn'd). 
Himself  as  skilful  in  that  art  as  any." 

Ealeigh  is  the  author  of  the  celebrated  verses,  "  Go,  soul,  the  body's 
guest ;  "  "  Give  me  my  scallop-shell  of  quiet ; "  and  of  the  lines  which 
were  written  and  left  in  his  Bible  on  the  night  before  he  was 
beheaded : — 

"  Even  such  is  time,  that  takes  in  trust 
Our  youth,  our  joys,  our  all  we  have, 
And  pays  us  but  with  age  and  dust ; 
Who,  in  the  dark  and  silent  grave, 
When  we  have  wandered  all  our  ways, 
Shuts  up  the  story  of  our  days : 
But  from  this  earth,  this  grave,  this  dust, 
The  Lord  shall  raise  me  up,  I  trust ! " 

Raleigh's  prose  has  been  described  as  "  some  of  the  most  flowing 
and  modern-looking  prose  of  the  period ; "  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that,  if  he  had  given  himself  entirely  to  literature,  he  would 
have  been  one  of  the  greatest  poets  and  prose-writers  of  his  time. 
His  style  is  calm,  noble,  and  melodious.  The  following  is  the  last 
sentence  of  the  History  of  the  World  : — 

"0  eloquent,  just,  and  mighty  Death  !  whom  none  could  advise,  thou  hast 
persuaded  ;  what  none  hath  dared,  thou  hast  done  ;  and  whom  all  the  world 
hath  flattered,  thou  only  hast  cast  out  of  the  world  and  despised  ;  thou  hast 
drawn  together  all  the  far-stretched  greatness,  all  the  pride,  cruelty,  and  am- 
bition of  manj  and  covered  it  all  over  with  these  two  narrow  words  Hicjacet." 


3.  Francis  Bacon  (1561-1626),  one  of  the  greatest  of  English 
thinkers,  and  one  of  our  best  prose-writers,  was  born  at  York  House, 

1  Emulating. 


378  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

in,  the  Strand,  London,  in  the  year  1561.  He  was  a  grave  and 
precocious  child ;  and  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  knew  him  and  liked 
him,  used  to  pat  him  and  call  him  her  "young  Lord  Keeper" — his 
father  being  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Seals  in  her  reign.  At  the  early 
age  of  twelve  he  was  sent  to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  and  re- 
mained there  for  three  years.  In  1582  he  was  called  to  the  bar; 
in  1593  he  was  M.P.  for  Middlesex,  But  his  greatest  rise  in  fortune 
did  not  take  place  till  the  reign  of  James  I. ;  when,  in  the  year  1618. 
he  had  risen  to  be  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  England.  The  title 
which  he  took  on  this  occasion — for  the  Lord  High  Chancellor  is 
chairman  of  the  House  of  Lords — was  Baron  Verulam;  and  a 
few  years  after  he  was  created  Viscount  St  Albans.  His  elo- 
quence was  famous  in  England ;  and  Ben  Jonson  said  of  him :  "  The 
fear  of  every  man  that  heard  him  was  lest  he  should  make  an  end." 
In  the  year  1621  he  was  accused  of  taking  bribes,  and  of  giving  un- 
just decisions  as  a  judge.  He  had  not  really  been  unconscientious, 
but  he  had  been  careless ;  was  obliged  to  plead  guilty ;  and  he  was 
sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  £40,000,  and  to  be  imprisoned  in  the 
Tower  during  the  king's  pleasure.  The  fine  was  remitted ;  Bacon 
was  set  free  in  two  days ;  a  pension  was  allowed  him ;  but  he  never 
afterwards  held  office  of  any  kind.  He  died  on  Easter-day  of  the 
year  1626,  of  a  chill  which  he  caught  while  experimenting  on  the 
preservative  properties  of  snow. 

4.  His  chief  prose-works  in  English — for  he  wrote  many  in  Latin — - 
are  the  Essays,  and  the  Advancement  of  Learning.  His  Essays 
make  one  of  the  wisest  books  ever  written ;  and  a  great  number  of 
English  thinkers  owe  to  them  the  best  of  what  they  have  had  to  say. 
They  are  written  in  a  clear,  forcible,  pithy,  and  picturesque  style, 
with  short  sentences,  and  a  good  many  illustrations,  drawn  from  his- 
tory, politics,  and  science.  It  is  true  that  the  style  is  sometimes 
stiff,  and  even  rigid ;  but  the  stiffness  is  the  stiffness  of  a  richly 
embroidered  cloth,  into  which  threads  of  gold  and  silver  have  been 
worked.  Bacon  kept  what  he  called  a  Promus  or  Commonplace- 
Book;  and  in  this  he  entered  striking  thoughts,  sentences,  and 
phrases  that  he  met  with  in  the  course  of  his  reading,  or  that  oc- 
curred to  him  during  the  day.  He  calls  these  sentences  "  salt-pits, 
that  you  may  extract  salt  out  of,  and  sprinkle  as  you  will."  The 
following  are  a  few  examples: — 

"That  that  is  Forced  is  not  Forcible." 
"  No  Man  loveth  his  Fetters  though  they  be  of  Gold." 
"  Clear  and  Round  Dealing  is  the  Honour  of  Man's  Nature." 
"  The  Arch-fiatterer,  with  whom  all  the  petty  Flatterers  have  intelligence,  Is 
a  Man's  Self." 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTUKY.  379 

"  If  Things  be  not  tossed  upon  the  Arguments  of  Counsell,  they  will  be  tossed 
Upon  the  Waves  of  Fortune. " 

The  following  are  a  few  striking  sentences  from  his  Essays  : — 

"Virtue  is  like  a  rich  stone,  best  plain  set." 

"  A  man's  nature  runs  either  to  herbs  or  weeds  ;  therefore,  let  him  season- 
ably water  the  one,  and  destroy  the  other." 

"A  crowd  is  not  company,  and  faces  are  but  a  gallery  of  pictures,  and  talk 
but  a  tinkling  cymbal,  when  there  is  no  love." 

No  man  could  say  wiser  things  in  pithier  words  ;  and  we  may 
well  say  of  his  thoughts,  in  the  words  of  Tennyson,  that  they  are — 

"Jewels,  five  words  long. 
That  on  the  stretched  forefinger  of  all  time 
Sparkle  for  ever." 


5.  William  Shakespeare  (1564-1616)  has  been  already  treated 
of  in  the  chapter  on  the  sixteenth  century.  But  it  may  be  noted 
here  that  his  first  two  periods — as  they  are  called — fall  within  the 
sixteenth,  and  his  last  two  periods  within  the  seventeenth  century. 
His  first  period  lies  between  1591  and  1596;  and  to  it  are  ascribed 
his  early  poems,  his  play  of  Kiehard  II.,  and  some  other  histor- 
ical plays.  His  second  period,  which  stretches  from  1596  to  1601 
holds  the  Sonnets,  the  Merchant  of  Venice,  the  Merry  Wives  of 
Windsor,  and  a  few  historical  dramas.  But  his  third  and  fourth 
periods  were  richer  in  production,  and  in  greater  productions.  The 
third  period,  which  belongs  to  the  years  1601  to  1608,  produced  the 
play  of  Julius  Caesar,  the  great  tragedies  of  Hamlet,  Othello, 
Lear,  Macbeth,  and  some  others.  To  the  fourth  period,  which 
lies  between  1608  and  1613,  belong  the  calmer  and  wiser  dramas, 
—Winter's  Tale,  The  Tempest,  and  Henry  VIII.  Three 
years  after — in  1616 — he  died. 

6.  The  Second  Half — The  second  half  of  the  great  and 
unique  seventeenth  century  was  of  a  character  very  different 
indeed  from  that  of  the  first  half.  The  Englishmen  born  into 
it  had  to  face  a  new  world  !  ISTew  thoughts  in  religion,  new 
forces  in  politics,  new  powers  in  social  matters  had  been  slowly, 
steadily,  and  irresistibly  rising  into  supremacy  ever  since  the 
Scottish  King  James  came  to  take  his  seat  upon  the  throne  of 
England  in  1603.     These  new  forces  had,  in  fact,  become  so 


380  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

strong  tliat  they  led  a  king  to  the  scaffold,  and  handed  over  the 
government  of  England  to  a  section  of  Republicans.  Charles 
I.  was  executed  in  1649;  and,  though  his  son  came  back 
to  the  throne  in  1660,  the  face,  the  manners,  the  thoughts  of 
England  and  of  Englishmen  had  undergone  a  complete  internal 
and  external  change.  The  Puritan  party  \A'as  everywhere  the 
ruling  party ;  and  its  views  and  convictions,  in  religion,  in 
jiolitics,  and  in  literature,  held  unquestioned  sway  in  almost 
every  part  of  England.  In  the  Puritan  party,  the  strongest 
section  was  formed  by  the  Independents — the  "  root  and  branch 
men  " — as  they  were  called ;  and  the  greatest  man  among  the 
Independents  was  Oliver  Cromwell,- in  whose  government  Joh.n 
Milton  was  Foreign  Secretary.  Milton  was  certainly  by  far 
the  greatest  and  most  powerful  writer,  both  in  prose  and  in 
verse,  on  the  side  of  the  Puritan  party.  The  ablest  verse-"vvriter 
on  the  Poyalist  or  Court  side  was  Samuel  Butler,  the  unrii^  ailed 
satirist — the  Hogarth  of  language, — the  author  of  Hudibras. 
The  greatest  prose-writer  on  the  Eoyalist  and  Church  side  was 
Jeremy  Taylor,  Bishop  of  Down,  in  Ireland,  and  the  author 
of  Holy  Living,  Holy  Dying,  and  many  other  works  written 
with  a  wonderful  eloquence.  The  greatest  philosophical  writer 
was  Thomas  Hobbes,  the  author  of  the  Leviathan.  The  most 
powerful  writer  for  the  people  was  John  Bunyan,  the  immortal 
author  of  The  Pilgrim's  Progress.  "\ATien,  however,  we  come 
to  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  11. ,  and  the  new  influences 
which  their  rule  and  presence  imparted,  we  find  the  greatest  poet 
to  be  John  Dryden,  and  the  most  important  prose-writer,  John 
Locke. 

7.  The  Poetry  of  the  Second  Half. — The  poetry  of  the  second 
half  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  not  an  outgrowth  or  lineal 
descendant  of  the  poetry  of  the  first  half.  JSTo  trace  of  the 
strong  Elizabethan  poetical  emotion  remained ;  no  writer  of  this 
half-century  can  claim  kinship  with  the  great  authors  of  the 
Elizabethan  period.  The  three  most  remarkable  poets  in  the 
latter  half  of  this  century  are  John  Milton,  Samuel  Butler, 
and  John  Dryden.  But  ]\Iilton's  culture  was  derived  chiefly 
from  the  great  Greek  and  Latin  writers ;  and  his  poems  shov?" 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  381 

few  or  no  signs  of  belonging  to  any  age  or  generation  in  particu- 
lar of  English  literature.  Butler's  poem,  the  Hudibras,  is  the 
only  one  of  its  kind ;  and  if  its  author  owes  anything  to  other 
writers,  it  is  to  France  and  not  to  England  that  we  must  look 
for  its  sources.  Dryden,  again,  shows  no  sign  of  being  related 
to  Shakespeare  or  the  dramatic  writers  of  the  early  part  of  the 
century ;  he  is  separated  from  them  by  a  great  gulf ;  he  owes 
most,  when  he  owes  anything,  to  the  French  school  of  poetry. 


8.  John  Milton  (1608-1674),  the  second  greatest  name  in  Eng- 
lish poetry,  and  the  greatest  of  all  our  epic  poets,  was  born  in  Bread 
Street,  Cheapside,  London,  in  the  year  1608 — five  years  after  the  ac- 
cession of  James  I.  to  the  throne,  and  eight  years  before  the  death  of 
Shakespeare.  He  was  educated  at  St  Paul's  School,  and  then  at 
Christ's  College,  Cambridge.  He  was  so  handsome — with  a  delicate 
complexion,  clear  blue  eyes,  and  light-brown  hair  flowing  down  his 
shoulders — that  he  was  known  as  the  "  Lady  of  Christ's."  He  was 
destined  for  tiie  Church ;  but,  being  early  seized  with  a  strong  desire 
to  compose  a  great  poetical  work  which  should  bring  honour  to  his 
country  and  to  the  English  tongue,  he  gave  up  all  idea  of  becoming 
a  clergyman.  Filled  with  his  secret  purpose,  he  retired  to  Horton, 
in  Buckinghamshire,  where  his  father  had  bought  a  small  country 
seat.  Between  the  years  1632  and  1638  he  studied  all  the  best 
Greek  and  Latin  authors,  mathematics,  and  science;  and  he  also 
wrote  L'AUegro  and  II  Penseroso,  Comus,  Lycidas,  and  some 
shorter  poems.  These  were  preludes,  or  exercises,  towards  the  great 
poetical  work  which  it  was  the  mission  of  his  life  to  produce.  In 
1638-39  he  took  a  journey  to  the  Continent.  Most  of  his  time 
was  spent  in  Italy ;  and,  when  in  Florence,  he  paid  a  visit  to  Galileo 
in  prison.  It  had  been  his  intention  to  go  on  to  Greece ;  but  the 
troubled  state  of  politics  at  home  brought  him  back  sooner  than  Le 
wished.  The  next  ten  years  of  his  life  were  engaged  in  teaching 
and  in  writing  his  prose  works.  His  ideas  on  teaching  are  to  be 
found  in  his  Tractate  on  Education.  The  most  eloquent  of  his 
"prose-works  is  his  Areopagitica,  a  Speech  for  the  Liberty  of 
Unlicensed  Printing  (1644)— a  plea  for  the  freedom  of  the  press, 
for  relieving  all  writings  from  the  criticism  of  censors.  In  1649 — 
the  year  of  the  execution  of  Charles  I. — Milton,  was  appointed  Latin 
or  Foreign  Secretary  to  the  Government  of  Oliver  Cromwell ;  and 
for  the  next  ten  years  his  time  was  taken  up  with  official  work, 
and  with  writing   prose-volumes  in  defence  of  the  action  of  the 


382  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

Republic.  In  1660  the  Restoration  took  place;  and  Milton  was  at 
length  free,  in  his  fifty-third  year,  to  carry  out  his  long-cherished 
scheme  of  writing  a  great  Epic  poem.  He  chose  the  subject  of  the 
fall  and  the  restoration  of  man.  Paradise  Lost  was  completed  in 
1665;  but,  owing  to  the  Plague  and  the  Fire  of  London,  it  was  not 
published  till  the  year  1667.  Milton's  young  Quaker  friend,  Ell  wood, 
said  to  him  one  day :  "  Thou  hast  said  much  of  Paradise  Lost,  what 
hast  thou  to  say  of  Paradise  Found  ? "  Paradise  Regained  was 
the  result — a  work  which  was  written  in  1666,  and  appeared,  along 
with  Samson  Agonistes,  in  the  year  1671.  Milton  died  in  the 
year  1674 — about  the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  He  had 
been  three  times  married. 

9.  L' Allegro  (or  "  The  Cheerful  ^lan " )  is  a  companion  poem  to 
n  Penseroso  (or  "  The  Meditative  Man  "  ).  The  poems  present  two 
contrasted  views  of  the  life  of  the  student.  They  are  written  in  an 
irregular  kind  of  octosyllabic  verse.  The  Comus — mostly  in  blank 
verse — is  a  lyrical  drama  ;  and  Milton's  work  was  accompanied  by 
a  musical  composition  by  the  then  famous  musician  Henry  Lawes. 
Lycidas — a  poem  in  irregular  rhymed  verse — is  a  threnody  on  the 
death  of  Milton's  young  friend,  Edward  King,  who  was  drowned 
in  sailing  from  Chester  to  Dublin.  This  poem  has  been  called  "  the 
touchstone  of  taste ; "  the  man  who  cannot  admire  it  has  no  feeling 
for  true  poetry.  The  Paradise  Lost  is  the  story  of  how  Satan  was 
allowed  to  plot  against  the  happiness  of  man ;  and  how  Adam  and 
Eve  fell  through  his  designs.  The  style  is  the  noblest  in  the  English 
language;  the  music  of  the  rhythm  is  lofty,  involved,  sustained,  and 
sublime.  "  In  reading  '  Paradise  Lost,' "  says  Mr  Lowell,  "  one  has  a 
feeling  of  spaciousness  such  as  no  other  poet  gives."  Paradise 
Regained  is,  in  fact,  the  story  of  the  Temptation,  and  of  Christ's 
triumph  over  the  wiles  of  Satan.  Wordsworth  says :  " '  Paradise 
Regained '  is  most  perfect  in  execution  of  any  written  by  Milton  ; " 
and  Coleridge  remarks  that  "it  is  in  its  kind  the  most  perfect 
poem  extant,  though  its  kind  may  be  inferior  in  interest."  Samson 
Agonistes  ("  Samson  in  Struggle"  )  is  a  drama,  in  highly  irregular 
unrhymed  verse,  in  which  the  poet  sets  forth  his  own  unhappy  fate — 

•  "Eyeless,  in  Gaza,  at  the  mill  with  slaves." 

"It  is,  indeed,  an  autobiographical  poem — it  is  the  story  of  the  last 
years  of  the  poet's  life. 


10.  Samuel  Butler  (1612-1680),  the  wittiest  of  English  poets,  was 
born  at  Strensham,  in  Worcestershire,  in  the  year  1612,  four  yearo 


THE   SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  383 

after  the  birtli  of  Milton,  and  four  years  before  the  death  of  Shake- 
speare. He  was  educated  at  the  grammar-school  of  Worcester,  and 
afterwards  at  Cambridge — but  only  for  a  short  time.  At  the  Resto- 
ration he  was  made  secretary  to  the  Earl  of  Carbery,  who  was  then 
President  of  the  Principality  of  Wales,  and  steward  of  Ludlow  Castle. 
The  first  part  of  his  long  poem  called  Hudibras  appeared  in  1662; 
the  second  part  in  1663 ;  the  third  in  1678.  Two  years  after,  Butler 
died  in  the  greatest  poverty  in  London.  He  was  buried  in  St  Paul's, 
Covent  Garden ;  but  a  monument  was  erected  to  him  in  Westminster 
Abbey.     Upon  this  fact  Wesley  wrote  the  following  epigram  : — 

"  While  Butler,  needy  WTetch,  was  yet  alive, 
No  generous  patron  would  a  dinner  give  ; 
See  him,  when  starved  to  death,  and  turned  to  dust, 
Presented  with  a  monumental  bust. 
Tlie  poet's  fate  is  here  in  emblem  showm, — 
He  asked  for  bread,  and  he  received  a  stone." 

11.  The  Hudibras  is  a  burlesque  poem, — a  long  lampoon,  a 
laboured  caricature, — in  mockery  of  the  weaker  side  of  the  great 
Puritan  party.  It  is  an  imaginary  account  of  the  adventures  of  a 
Puritan  knight  and  his  squire  in  the  Civil  Wars.  It  is  choke-full  of 
all  kinds  of  learning,  of  the  most  pungent  remarks — a  very  hoard  of 
sentences  and  saws,  "  of  vigorous  locutions  and  picturesque  phrases, 
of  strong,  sound  sense,  and  robust  English."  It  has  been  more 
quoted  from  than  almost  any  book  in  our  language.  Charles  II. 
was  never  tired  of  reading  it  and  quoting  from  it — 

"  He  never  ate,  nor  drank,  nor  slept, 
But  Hudibras  still  near  him  kept " — 

says  Butler  himself. 

The  following  are  some  of  his  best  known  lines  : — 

"  And,  like  a  lobster  boil'd,  the  morn 
From  black  to  red  began  to  turn." 

"  For  loyalty  is  still  the  same, 
Whether  it  win  or  lose  the  game: 
True  as  the  dial  to  the  sun, 
Altho'  it  be  not  shin'd  upon." 

*'  He  that  complies  against  his  will, 
Is  of  his  own  opinion  still." 


12.  JoHM"  Drtden  (1631-1700),  the  greatest  of  our  poets  in  the 
second  rank,  was  born  at  Ald^vincle,  in  Northamptonshire,  in  the 


384  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

year  1631.  He  was  descended  from  Puritan  ancestors  on  both 
sides  of  his  house.  He  was  educated  at  "Westminster  School,  and 
at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  London  became  his  settled  abode  in 
the  year  1657.  At  the  Restoration,  in  1660,  he  became  an  ardent 
Royalist ;  and,  in  the  year  1663,  he  married  the  daughter  of  a  Royalist 
nobleman,  the  Earl  of  Berkshire,  It  was  not  a  happy  marriage ;  the 
lady,  on  the  one  hand,  had  a  violent  temper,  and,  on  the  other,  did 
not  care  a  straw  for  the  literary  pursuits  of  her  husband.  In  1666  he 
wrote  his  first  long  poem,  the  Annus  Mirabilis  ("  The  Wonderful 
Year  "),  in  which  he  paints  the  war  with  Holland,  and  the  Fire  of 
London  ;  and  from  this  date  his  life  is  "  one  long  literary  labour." 
In  1670,  he  received  the  double  appointment  of  Historiographer- 
Royal  and  Poet-Laureate.  Up  to  the  year  1681,  his  work  lay  chiefly 
in  writing  plays  for  the  theatre ;  and  these  plays  were  written  in 
rhymed  verse,  in  imitation  of  tlie  French  plays  ;  for,  from  the  date 
of  the  Restoration,  French  influence  was  paramount  both  in  literature 
and  in  fashion.  But  in  this  year  he  published  the  first  part  of 
Absalom  and  Achitophel — one  of  the  most  powerful  satires  in  the 
language.  In  the  year  1683  he  was  appointed  Collector  of  Customs 
in  the  port  of  London — a  post  which  Chaucer  had  held  before  him. 
(It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Dryden  "  translated  "  the  Tales  of  Chaucer 
into  modern  English.)  At  the  accession  of  James  II.,  in  1685,  Dryden 
became  a  Roman  Catholic  ;  most  certainly  neither  for  gain  nor  out 
of  gratitude,  but  from  conviction.  In  1687,  appeared  his  poem  of 
The  Hind  and  the  Panther,  in  which  he  defends  his  new  creed. 
He  had,  a  few  years  before,  brought  out  another  poem  called  Heligio 
Laid  ("A  Layman's  Faith"),  which  was  a  defence  of  the  Church  of 
England  and  of  her  position  in  religion.  In  The  Hind  and  the 
Panther,  the  Hind  represents  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  "  a  milk- 
white  hind,  unspotted  and  unchanged,"  the  Panther  the  Church  of 
England;  and  the  two  beasts  reply  to  each  other  in  all  the  argu- 
ments used  by  controversialists  on  these  two  sides.  When  the 
Revolution  of  1688  took  place,  and  James  II.  had  to  flee  the  king- 
dom, Dryden  lost  both  his  offices  and  the  pension  he  had  from 
the  Crown.  Nothing  daunted,  he  set  to  work  once  more.  Again 
he  wrote  for  the  stage ;  but  the  last  years  of  his  life  were  spent 
chiefly  in  translation.  He  translated  passages  from  Homer,  Ovid, 
and  from  some  Italian  writers;  but  his  most  important  work  was 
the  translation  of  the  whole  of  Virgil's  ^neid.  To  the  last  he 
retained  his  fire  and  vigour,  action  and  rush  of  verse  ;  and  some  of 
his  greatest  lyric  poems  belong  to  his  later  years.  His  ode  called 
Alexander's  Feast  was  written  at  the  age  of  sixty-six ;  and  it  was 
written  at  one  sitting.     At  the  age  of  sixty-nine  he  was  meditating  a 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  335 

translation  of  tlie  whole  of  Homer — both  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey. 
He  died  at  his  house  in  London,  on  May-day  of  1700,  and  was  buried 
with  great  pomp  and  splendour  in  Poets'  Corner  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

13.  His  best  satire  is  the  Absalom  and  Achitophel ;  his  best 
specimen  of  reasoning  in  verse  is  The  Hind  and  the  Panther. 
His  best  ode  is  his  Ode  to  the  Memory  of  Mrs  Anne  Killigrew. 
Dryden's  style  is  distinguished  by  its  power,  sweep,  vigour,  and 
"long  majestic  march."  No  one  has  handled  the  heroic  couplet — 
and  it  was  this  form  of  verse  that  he  chiefly  used — with  more  vigour 
than  Dryden ;  Pope  was  more  correct,  more  sparkling,  more  finished, 
but  he  had  not  Dryden's  magnificent  march  or  sweeping  impulsiveness. 
"  The  fire  and  spirit  of  the  '  Annus  Mirabilis,' "  says  a  recent  critic, 
"  are  nothing  short  of  amazing,  when  the  difficulties  which  beset  the 
author  are  remembered.  The  glorious  dash  of  the  performance  is 
his  OAvn."  His  prose,  though  full  of  faults,  is  also  very  vigorous. 
It  has  "  something  of  the  lightning  zigzag  vigour  and  splendour  of 
his  verse."  He  always  writes  clear,  homely,  and  pure  English, — full 
of  force  and  point. 

Many  of  his  most  pithy  lines  are  often  quoted : — 

"Men  are  but  children  of  a  larger  growth." 

Errors,  like  straws,  upon  the  surface  flow ; 

He  that  would  search  for  pearls  must  dive  below.** 

"The  greatest  argument  for  love  is  love." 

"The  secret  pleasure  of  the  generous  act. 
Is  the  great  mind's  great  bribe." 

The  great  American  critic  and  poet,  Mr  Lowell,  compares  him  to 
"  an  ostrich,  to  be  classed  with  flying  things,  and  capable,  what  with 
leap  and  flap  together,  of  leaving  the  earth  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter 
space,  but  loving  the  open  plain,  where  wing  and  foot  help  each 
other  to  something  that  is  both  flight  and  run  at  once." 


14.  Jeremy  Taylor  (1613-1667),  the  greatest  master  of  ornate 
and  musical  English  prose  in  his  own  day,  was  born  at  Cambridge  in 
the  year  1613 — just  three  years  before  Shakespeare  died.  His  father 
was  a  barber.  After  attending  the  free  granmiar  -  school  of  Cam- 
bridge, he  proceeded  to  the  University.  He  took  holy  orders  and 
removed  to  London.  "When  he  was  lecturing  one  day  at  St  Paul's, 
Archbishop  Laud  was  so  taken  by  his  "youthful  beauty,  pleasant 
air,"  fresh  eloquence,  and  exuberant  style,  that  he  had  him  created 


S8G  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

a  Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford.  When  the  Civil  War  broke 
out,  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Parliamentary  forces  ;  and,  in- 
deed, suffered  imprisonment  more  than  once.  After  the  Restoration, 
he  was  presented  with  a  bishopric  in  Ireland,  where  he  died  in 
1667. 

15.  Perhaps  his  best  works  are  his  Holy  Living  and  Holy  Dying. 
His  style  is  rich,  even  to  luxury,  full  of  the  most  imaginative  illus- 
trations, and  often  overloaded  with  ornament.  He  has  been  called 
"  the  Shakespeare  of  English  prose,"  "  the  Spenser  of  divinity," 
and  by  other  appellations.  The  latter  title  is  a  very  happy  descrip- 
tion ;  for  he  has  the  same  wealth  of  style,  phrase,  and  description 
that  Spenser  has,  and  the  same  boundless  delight  in  setting  forth  his 
thoughts  in  a  thousand  different  ways.  The  following  is  a  specimen 
of  his  writing.     He  is  speaking  of  a  shipwreck  : — 

"These  are  the  thoughts  of  mortals,  this  is  the  end  and  sum  of  all  their 
designs.  A  dark  night  and  an  ill  guide,  a  boisterous  sea  and  a  broken  cable, 
a  hard  rock  and  a  rough  wind,  dash  in  pieces  the  fortune  of  a  whole  family ; 
and  they  that  shall  weep  loudest  for  the  accident  are  not  yet  entered  into  the 
storm,  and  yet  have  suffered  shipwreck." 

His  writings  contain  many  pithy  statements.  The  following  are 
a  few  of  them : — 

**  No  man  is  poor  that  does  not  think  himself  so." 

"  He  that  spends  his  time  in  sport  and  calls  it  recreation,  is  like  him  whose 
garment  is  all  made  of  fringe,  and  his  meat  nothing  but  sauce. 

"  A  good  man  is  as  much  in  awe  of  himself  as  of  a  whole  assembly. 


16.  Thomas  Hobbes  (1588-1679),  a  great  philosopher,  was  born 
at  Malmesbury  in  the  year  1588.  He  is  hence  called  "  the  philo- 
sopher of  Malmesbury."  He  lived  during  the  reigns  of  four  Eng- 
lish sovereigns — Elizabeth,  James  I.,  Charles  I.,  and  Charles  II. ; 
and  he  was  twenty -eight  years  of  age  when  Shakespeare  died. 
He  is  in  many  respects  the  type  of  the  hard-working,  long-lived, 
persistent  Englishman.  He  was  for  many  years  tutor  in  the  Devon- 
shire family^ — to  the  first  Earl  of  Devonshire,  and  to  the  third  Earl  of 
Devonshire — and  lived  for  several  years  at  the  family  seat  of  Chats- 
worth.  In  his  youth  he  was  acquainted  with  Bacon  and  Ben  Jonson ; 
in  his  middle  age  he  knew  Galileo  in  Italy ;  and  as  he  lived  to  the 
age  of  ninety -two,  he  might  have  conversed  with  John  Locke  or 
with  Daniel  Defoe.  His  greatest  work  is  the  Leviatlian ;  or.  The 
Matter,  rorm,  and  Power  of  a  Commonwealth.  His  style 
is  clear,  manly,  and  vigorous.     He  tried  to  write  poetry  too.     At 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  387 

the  advanced  age  of  eiglity-five,  he  wrote  a  translation  of  the  whole 
of  Homer's  Iliad  and  Odyssey  into  rhymed  English  verse,  using 
the  same  quatrain  and  the  same  measure  that  Dryden  employed 
in  his  'Annus  Mirabilis.'  Two  lines  are  still  remembered  of  this 
translation  :  speaking  of  a  child  and  his  mother,  he  says — 

"  And  like  a  star  upon  her  bosom  lay 
His  beautiful  and  sliming  golden  head." 


17.  John  Bunyan  (1628-1688),  one  of  the  most  popular  of  our 
prose -writers,  was  born  at  Elstow,  in  Bedfordshire,  in  the  year 
1628 — just  three  years  before  the  birth  of  Dryden.  He  served, 
when  a  young  man,  with  the  Parliamentary  forces,  and  was  present 
at  the  siege  of  Leicester.  At  the  Restoration,  he  was  apprehended 
for  preaching,  in  disobedience  to  the  Conventicle  Act,  "was  had 
home  to  prison,  and  there  lay  complete  twelve  years."  Here  he 
supported  himself  and  his  family  by  making  tagged  laces  and  other 
small- wares ;  and  here,  too,  he  wrote  the  immortal  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress. After  his  release,  he  became  pastor  of  the  Baptist  congre- 
gation at  Bedford.  He  had  a  great  power  of  bringing  persons  who 
had  quarrelled  together  again;  and  he  was  so  popular  among  those 
who  knew  him,  that  he  was  generally  spoken  of  as  "  Bishop  Bunyan." 
On  a  journey,  undertaken  to  reconcile  an  estranged  father  and  a  rebel- 
lious son,  he  caught  a  severe  cold,  and  died  of  fever  in  London,  in  the 
year  1688.  Every  one  has  read,  or  will  read,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress ; 
and  it  may  be  said,  without  exaggeration,  that  to  him  who  has  not 
read  the  book,  a  large  part  of  English  life  and  history  is  dumb  and 
unintelligible.  Bunyan  has  been  called  the  "  Spenser  of  the  people," 
and  "  the  greatest  master  of  allegory  that  ever  lived."  His  power 
of  imagination  is  something  wonderful;  and  his  simple,  homely, 
and  vigorous  style  makes  ever^^thing  so  real,  that  we  seem  to  be 
reading  a  narrative  of  everyday  events  and  conversations.  His 
vocabulary  is  not,  as  Macaulay  said,  "the  A^ocabulary  of  the  common 
people;"  rather  should  we  say  that  his  English  is  the  English  of 
the  Bible  and  of  the  best  religious  writers.  His  style  is,  almost 
everywhere,  simple,  homely,  earnest,  and  vernacular — without  being 
vulgar.  Bunyan's  books  have,  along  with  Shakespeare  and  Tyndale's 
works,  been  among  the  chief  supports  of  an  idiomatic,  nervous,  and 
simple  English. 


18.  John  Locke  (1632-1704),  a  great  English  philosopher,  was 
born  at  Wrington,  near  Bristol,  in  the  year  1632.     He  was  educated 


388  HISTOEY  OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

at  Oxford ;  but  he  took  little  interest  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics, 
his  chief  studies  lying  in  medicine  and  the  physical  sciences.  He 
became  attached  to  the  famous  Lord  Shaftesbury,  under  whom  he 
filled  several  public  offices — among  others,  that  of  Commissioner  of 
Trade.  When  Shaftesbury  M-as  obliged  to  flee  to  Holland,  Locke 
followed  him,  and  spent  several  years  in  exile  in  that  country.  All 
his  life  a  very  delicate  man,  he  yet,  by  dint  of  great  care  and  thought- 
fulness,  contrived  to  live  to  the  age  of  seventy-two.  His  two  most 
famous  works  are  Some  Thoughts  concerning  Education,  and 
the  celebrated  Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding.  The 
latter,  which  is  his  great  work,  occupied  his  time  and  thoughts  for 
eighteen  years.  In  both  these  books,  Locke  exhibits  the  very  genius 
of  common-sense.  The  purpose  of  education  is,  in  his  opinion,  not 
to  make  learned  men,  but  to  maintain  "a  sound  mind  in  a  sound 
body ; "  and  he  begins  the  education  of  the  future  man  even  from 
his  cradle.  In  his  philosophical  writings,  he  is  always  simple ;  but, 
as  he  is  loose  and  vacillating  in  his  use  of  terms,  this  simplicity  is 
often  purchased  at  the  expense  of  exactness  and  self- consistency. 


CHAPTER    VL 

THE    FIRST    HALF    OF    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

1.  The  Age  of  Prose. — The  eighteenth  century  was  an  age 
of  prose  in  two  senses.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  a  prosaic  age ; 
and,  in  the  second  place,  better  prose  than  poetry  was  pro- 
duced by  its  writers.  One  remarkable  fact  may  also  be  noted 
about  the  chief  prose-writers  of  this  century — and  that  is,  that 
they  were,  most  of  them,  not  merely  able  writers,  not  merely 
distinguished  literary  men,  but  also  men  of  affairs — men  well 
versed  in  the  world  and  in  matters  of  the  highest  practical 
moment,  while  some  were  also  statesmen  holding  high  office. 
Thus,  in  the  first  half  of  the  century,  we  find  Addison,  Swift, 
and  Defoe  either  holding  office  or  influencing  and  guiding 
those  who  held  office  ;  while,  in  the  latter  half,  we  have  men 
like  Burke,  Hume,  and  Gibbon,  of  whom  the  same,  or  nearly 
the  same,  can  be  said.  The  poets,  on  the  contrary,  of  this 
eighteenth  century,  are  all  of  them — with  the  very  slightest 
exceptions — men  who  devoted  most  of  their  lives  to  poetry, 
and  had  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  practical  matters.  It 
may  also  be  noted  here  that  the  character  of  the  eighteenth 
century  becomes  more  and  more  prosaic  as  it  goes  on — less  and 
less  under  the  influence  of  the  spirit  of  poetry,  until,  about  the 
close,  a  great  reaction  makes  itself  felt  in  the  persons  of  Cowper, 
Chatterton,  and  Burns,  of  Crabbe  and  Wordsworth. 

2.  The  First  Half. — The  great  prose-writers  of  the  first  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century  are  Addison  and  Steele,  Swift  and 


390  HISTORY    OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

Defoe.  All  of  these  men  had  some  more  or  less  close  con- 
nection with  the  rise  of  journalism  in  England ;  and  one  of 
them,  Defoe,  was  indeed  the  founder  of  the  modem  newspaper. 
By  far  the  most  powerful  intellect  of  these  four  was  Swift. 
The  greatest  poets  of  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century- 
were  Pope,  Thomson,  Collins,  and  Gray.  Pope  towers  above 
all  of  them  by  a  head  and  shoulders,  because  he  was  much 
more  fertile  than  any,  and  because  he  worked  so  hard  and  so 
untiringly  at  the  labour  of  the  file — at  the  task  of  polishing  and 
improving  his  verses.  But  the  vein  of  poetry  in  the  three 
others — and  more  especially  in  Collins — Avas  much  more  pure 
and  genuine  than  it  was  in  Pope  at  any  time  of  his  life — at  any 
period  of  his  writing.  Let  us  look  at  each  of  these  writers  a 
little  more  closely. 


3.  Daniel  Defoe  (1661-1731),  one  of  the  most  fertile  writers 
that  England  ever  saw,  and  one  who  has  been  the  delight  of 
many  generations  of  readers,  was  born  in  the  city  of  London  in  the 
year  1661.  He  was  educated  to  be  a  Dissenting  minister  ;  but  he 
turned  from  that  profession  to  the  pursuit  of  trade.  He  attempted 
several  trades, — was  a  hosier,  a  hatter,  a  printer  ;  and  he  is  said  also 
to  have  been  a  brick  and  tile  maker.  In  1692  he  failed  in  business ; 
but,  in  no  long  time  after,  he  paid  every  one  of  his  creditors  to  the 
uttermost  farthing.  Through  all  his  labours  and  misfortunes  he  was 
always  a  hard  and  careful  reader, — an  omnivorous  reader,  too,  for 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  almost  every  book  that  came  in  his 
way.  He  made  his  first  reputation  by  writing  political  pamplilets. 
One  of  his  pamphlets  brought  him  into  high  favour  with  King 
William  ;  another  had  the  effect  of  placing  him  in  the  pillory  and 
lodging  him  in  prison.  But  while  in  Newgate,  he  did  not  idle  away 
his  time  or  "  languish  "  ;  he  set  to  work,  wrote  hard,  and  started  a 
newspaper.  The  Review,  —  the  earliest  genuine  newspaper  Eng- 
land had  seen  up  to  his  time.  This  paper  he  brought  out  two  or 
three  times  a- week ;  and  every  word  of  it  he  "svTote  himself.  He 
continued  to  carry  it  on  single-handed  for  eight  years.  In  1706, 
he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Commission  for  bringing  about  the 
union  between  England  and  Scotland  ;  and  his  great  knowledge  of 
commerce  and  commercial  aff'airs  were  of  singular  value  to  this  Com- 
mission. In  1715  he  had  a  dangerous  illness,  brought  on  by  political 
excitement ;  and,  on  his  recovery,  he  gave  up  most  of  his  political 


FIRST   HALF   OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  391 

writing,  and  took  to  the  composition  of  stories  and  romances. 
Although  now  a  man  of  fifty-four,  he  wrote  with  the  vigour  and 
ease  of  a  young  man  of  thirty.  His  greatest  imaginative  work 
was  written  in  1719 — when  he  was  nearly  sixty — The  Life  and 
Strange  Surprising  Adventures  of  Robinson  Crusoe,  of 
York,  Mariner,  .  .  .  written  by  Himself.  Within  six  years 
he  had  produced  twelve  works  of  a  similar  kind.  He  is  said  to  have 
written  in  all  two  hundred  and  fifty  books  in  the  course  of  his 
lifetime.     He  died  in  1731. 

4.  His  best  known — and  it  is  also  his  greatest — work  is  Robinson 
Crusoe  ;  and  this  book,  which  every  one  has  read,  may  be  compared 
vrith  *  Gulliver's  Travels,'  for  the  purpose  of  observing  how  imag- 
inative eff'ects  are  produced  by  different  means  and  in  diff"erent  ways. 
Another  vigorous  work  of  imagination  by  Defoe  is  the  Journal  of 
the  Plague,  which  appeared  in  1722.  There  are  three  chief  things  to 
be  noted  regarding  Defoe  and  his  writings.  These  are  :  first,  that  Defoe 
possessed  an  unparalleled  knowledge — a  knowledge  wider  than  even 
Shakespeare's — of  the  circumstances  and  details  of  human  life  among 
all  sorts,  ranks,  and  conditions  of  men  ;  secondly,  that  he  gains  his 
wonderful  realistic  eff'ects  by  the  freest  and  most  copious  use  of 
this  detailed  knowledge  in  his  works  of  imagination  ;  and  thirdly, 
that  he  possessed  a  vocabulary  of  the  most  wonderful  wealth.  His 
style  is  strong,  homely,  and  vigorous,  but  the  sentences  are  long, 
loose,  clumsy,  and  sometimes  ungrammatical.  Like  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  he  was  too  eager  to  produce  large  and  broad  effects  to  take 
time  to  balance  his  clauses  or  to  polish  his  sentences.  Like  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  again,  he  possesses  in  the  highest  degree  the  art  of 
particularising. 


5.  Jonathan  Swift  (1667-1745),  the  greatest  prose-writer,  in 
his  own  kind,  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  opposite  in  most 
respects  —  especially  in  style  —  of  Addison,  was  born  in  Dublin 
in  the  year  1667.  Though  born  in  Ireland,  he  was  of  purely 
English  descent — his  father  belonging  to  a  Yorkshire  family,  and 
his  mother  being  a  Leicestershire  lady.  His  father  died  before  he 
was  born  ;  and  he  was  educated  by  the  kindness  of  an  uncle. 
After  being  at  a  private  school  at  Kilkenny,  he  was  sent  to  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  where  he  was  plucked  for  his  degree  at  his  first 
examination,  and,  on  a  second  trial,  only  obtained  his  B.A.  "by 
special  favour."  He  next  came  to  England,  and  for  eleven  years 
acted  as  private  secretary  to  Sir  William  Temple,  a  retired  states- 
man and  ambassador,  who  lived  at  Moor  Park,  near  Richmond-on- 


392  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

Thames.  In  1692  lie  paid  a  visit  to  Oxford,  and  there  obtained  the 
degree  of  M.A.  In  1700  he  went  to  Ireland  with  Lord  Berkeley  as 
his  chaplain,  and  while  in  that  country  was  presented  with  several 
livings.  He  at  first  attached  himself  to  the  Whig  party,  but  stung 
by  this  party's  neglect  of  his  labours  and  merits,  he  joined  the 
Tories,  who  raised  him  to  the  Deanery  of  St  Patrick's  Cathedral  in 
Dublin.  But,  though  nominally  resident  in  Dublin,  he  spent  a  large 
part  of  his  time  in  London.  Here  he  knew  and  met  everybody 
who  was  worth  knomng,  and  for  some  time  he  was  the  most  im- 
posing figure,  and  wielded  the  greatest  influence  in  all  the  best 
social,  political,  and  literary  circles  of  the  capital.  In  1714,  on  the 
death  of  Queen  Anne,  Swift's  hopes  of  further  advancement  died 
out ;  and  he  returned  to  his  Deanery,  settled  in  Dublin,  and  "  com- 
menced Irishman  for  life."  A  man  of  strong  passions,  he  usually 
spent  his  birthday  in  reading  that  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Job  which 
contains  the  verse,  "  Let  the  day  perish  in  which  I  was  born."  He 
died  insane  in  1745,  and  left  his  fortune  to  found  a  lunatic  asylum 
in  Dublin.  One  day,  when  taking  a  walk  with  a  friend,  he  saw  a 
blasted  elm,  and,  pointing  to  it,  he  said  :  "  I  shall  be  like  that  tree, 
and  die  first  at  the  top."  For  the  last  three  years  of  his  life  he  never 
spoke  one  word. 

6.  Swift  has  written  verse  ;  but  it  is  his  prose-works  that  give 
him  his  high  and  unrivalled  place  in  English  literature.  His  most 
powerful  work,  published  in  1704,  is  the  Tale  of  a  Tub — a  satire 
on  the  disputes  between  the  Roman  Catholic,  Anglican,  and  Presbj^- 
terian  Churches.  His  best  known  prose-work  is  the  Gulliver's 
Travels,  which  appeared  in  1 726.  This  work  is  also  a  satire ;  but 
it  is  a  satire  on  men  and  women, — on  humanity.  "  The  power  of 
Swift's  prose,"  it  has  been  said  by  an  able  critic,  "  was  the  terror  of 
his  own,  and  remains  the  wonder  of  after  times."  His  style  is  strong, 
simple,  straightforward ;  he  uses  the  plainest  words  and  the  homeliest 
English,  and  every  blow  tells.  Swift's  style — as  every  genuine  style 
does — reflects  the  author's  character.  He  was  an  ardent  lover  and  a 
good  hater.  Sir  Walter  Scott  describes  him  as  "  tall,  strong,  and 
well  made,  dark  in  complexion,  but  with  bright  blue  eyes  (Pope  said 
they  were  "  as  azure  as  the  heavens "),  black  and  bushy  eyebrovv^s, 
aquiline  nose,  and  features  which  expressed  the  stern,  haughty,  and 
dauntless  turn  of  his  mind."  He  grew  savage  under  the  slightest 
contradiction  ;  and  dukes  and  great  lords  were  obliged  to  pay  court 
to  him.  His  prose  was  as  trenchant  and  powerful  as  were  his  man- 
ners :  it  has  been  compared  to  "  cold  steel."  His  own  definition 
of  a  good  style  is  "  proper  words  in  proper  places." 


FIRST   HALF   OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  393 

7.  Joseph  Addison  (1672-1719),  the  most  elegant  prose-writer — 
as  Pope  was  the  most  polished  verse-writer — of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, was  born  at  Milston,  in  Wiltshire,  in  the  year  1672.  He  was 
educated  at  Charterhouse  School,  in  London,  where  one  of  his  friends 
and  companions  was  the  celebrated  Dick  Steele — afterwards  Sir 
Richard  Steele.  He  then  went  to  Oxford,  where  he  made  a  name  for 
himself  by  his  beautiful  compositions  in  Latin  verse.  In  1695  he 
addressed  a  poem  to  King  William  ;  and  this  poem  brought  him  into 
notice  with  the  Government  of  the  day.  Not  long  after,  he  received 
a  pension  of  £300  a-year,  to  enable  him  to  travel ;  and  he  spent  some 
time  in  France  and  Italy.  The  chief  result  of  this  tour  was  a  poem 
entitled  A  Letter  from  Italy  to  Lord  Halifax.  In  1704,  when 
Lord  Godolphin  was  in  search  of  a  poet  who  should  celebrate  in  an 
adequate  style  the  striking  victory  of  Blenheim,  Addison  was  intro- 
duced to  him  by  Lord  Halifax.  His  poem  called  The  Campaign 
was  the  result ;  and  one  simile  in  it  took  and  held  the  attention 
of  all  English  readers,  and  of  "  the  town."  A  violent  storm  had 
passed  over  England  ;  and  Addison  compared  the  calm  genius  of 
Marlborough,  who  was  as  cool  and  serene  amid  shot  and  shell  as  in 
a  drawing-room  or  at  the  dinner-table,  to  the  Angel  of  the  Storm. 
The  lines  are  these  : — 

'*So  when  an  Angel  by  divine  command 
With,  rising  tempests  shakes  a  guilty  land. 
Such  as  of  late  o'er  pale  Britannia  passed, 
Calm  and  serene  he  drives  the  furious  blast ; 
And,  pleased  the  Almighty's  orders  to  perform, 
Rides  in  the  whirlwind,  and  directs  the  storm." 

For  this  poem  Addison  was  rewarded  with  the  post  of  Commissioner 
of  Appeals.  He  rose,  successively,  to  be  Under  Secretary  of  State  ; 
Secretary  for  Ireland  ;  and,  finally,  Secretary  of  State  for  England — 
an  office  which  would  correspond  to  that  of  our  present  Home 
Secretary.  He  married  the  Countess  of  Warwick,  to  whose  son  he 
had  been  tutor  ;  but  it  was  not  a  happy  marriage.  Pope  says  of  him 
in  regard  to  it,  that — 

"  He  married  discord  in  a  noble  wife," 

He  died  at  Holland  House,  Kensington,  London,  in  the  year  1719,  at 
the  age  of  forty-seven. 

8.  But  it  is  not  at  all  as  a  poet,  but  as  a  prose-writer,  that  Addison 
is  famous  in  the  history  of  literature.  While  he  was  in  Ireland, 
his  friend  Steele  started  The  Tatler,  in  1709  ;  and  Addison  sent 
numerous  contributions  to  this  little  paper.  In  1711,  Steele  began 
a  still  more  famous  paper,  which  he  called  The  Spectator ;  and 


394  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

Addison's  writings  in  this  morning  journal  made  its  reputation.  Hia 
contributions  are  distinguishable  by  being  signed  with  some  one  of  the 
letters  of  the  name  Clio — the  Muse  of  History.  A  third  paper,  The 
Guardian,  appeared  a  few  years  after  ;  and  Addison's  contributions 
to  it  are  designated  by  a  hand  (i^")  at  the  foot  of  each.  In  addition 
to  his  numerous  prose- writings,  Addison  brought  out  the  tragedy  of 
Cato  in  1713.  It  was  very  successful ;  but  it  is  now  neither  read 
nor  acted.  Some  of  his  hymns,  however,  are  beautiful,  and  are  well 
known.  Such  are  the  hymn  beginning,  "  The  spacious  firmament 
on  high  ; "  and  his  version  of  the  23d  Psalm,  "  The  Lord  my  pasture 
shall  prepare." 

9.  Addison's  prose  style  is  inimitable,  easy,  graceful,  full  of  humour 
— full  of  good  humour,  delicate,  with  a  sweet  and  kindly  rhythm, 
and  always  musical  to  the  ear.  He  is  the  most  graceful  of  social 
satirists  ;  and  his  genial  creation  of  the  character  of  Sir  Roger  de 
Coverley  wdll  live  for  ever.  While  his  work  in  verse  is  never 
more  than  second-rate,  his  writings  in  prose  are  always  first-rate. 
Dr  Johnson  said  of  his  prose  :  "  "WTioever  wishes  to  attain  an  English 
style — familiar  but  not  coarse,  and  elegant  but  not  ostentatious, 
— must  give  his  days  and  nights  to  the  study  of  Addison,"  Lord 
Lytton  also  remarks  :  "  His  style  has  that  nameless  urbanity  in 
which  we  recognise  the  perfection  of  manner  ;  courteous,  but  not 
courtier-like  ;  so  dignified,  yet  so  kindly ;  so  easy,  yet  high-bred. 
It  is  the  most  perfect  form  of  English."  His  style,  however,  must 
be  acknowledged  to  want  force — to  be  easy  rather  than  vigorous ; 
and  it  has  not  the  splendid  march  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  or  the  noble 
power  of  Savage  Landor. 


10.  Richard  Steele  (1671-1729),  commonly  called  "  Dick  Steele," 
the  friend  and  colleague  of  Addison,  was  born  in  Dublin,  but  of 
English  parents,  in  the  year  1671.  The  two  friends  were  educated 
at  Charterhouse  and  at  Oxford  together ;  and  they  remained  friends, 
with  some  slight  breaks  and  breezes,  to  the  close  of  life.  Steele 
was  a  writer  of  plays,  essays,  and  pamphlets — for  one  of  which  he 
was  expelled  from  the  House  of  Commons  ;  but  his  chief  fame  was 
earned  in  connection  with  the  Society  Journals,  M'hich  he  founded. 
He  started  many — such  as  Town-Talk,  The  Tea-Table,  Chit- 
chat ;  but  only  the  Tatler  and  the  Spectator  rose  to  success  and 
to  fame.  The  strongest  quality  in  his  writings  is  his  pathos  :  the 
source  of  tears  is  always  at  his  command  ;  and,  although  himself 
of  a  gay  and  even  rollicking  temperament,  he  seems  to  have  pre- 
ferred this  vein.     The  literary  skill  of  Addison — his  happy  art  in 


FIRST   HALF   OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTUKY.  395 

tlie  clioosing  of  words — did  not  fall  to  the  lot  of  Steele  ;  but  he 
is  more  hearty  and  more  human  in  his  description  of  character.  He 
died  in  1729,  ten  years  after  the  departure  of  his  friend  Addison. 


11.  Alexander  Pope  (1688-1744),  the  greatest  poet  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  was  born  in  Lombard  Street,  London,  in  the 
year  of  the  Eevolution,  1688.  His  father  was  a  wholesale  linendraper, 
who,  having  amassed  a  fortune,  retired  to  Binfield,  on  the  borders  of 
Windsor  Forest.  In  the  heart  of  this  beautiful  country  young  Pope's 
youth  was  spent.  On  the  death  of  his  father.  Pope  left  Windsor 
and  took  up  his  residence  at  Twickenham,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Thames,  where  he  remained  till  his  death  in  1744.  His  parents 
being  Roman  Catholics,  it  was  impossible  for  young  Pope  to  go  either 
to  a  public  school  or  to  one  of  the  universities  ;  and  hence  he  was 
educated  privately.  At  the  early  age  of  eight,  he  met  with  a  trans- 
lation of  Homer  in  verse  ;  and  this  volume  became  his  companion 
night  and  day.  At  the  age  of  ten,  he  turned  some  of  the  events 
described  in  Homer  into  a  play.  The  poems  of  Spenser,  the  poets' 
poet,  were  his  next  favourites  ;  but  the  writer  who  made  the  deepest 
and  most  lasting  impression  upon  his  mind  was  Dryden.  Little 
Pope  began  to  write  verse  very  early.     He  says  of  himself — 

'*  As  yet  a  child,  nor  yet  a  fool  to  fame, 
I  lisped  iu  numbers,  for  the  numbers  came." 

His  Ode  to  Solitude  was  written  at  the  age  of  twelve  ;  his  Pas- 
torals when  he  was  fifteen.  His  Essay  on  Criticism,  which  was 
composed  in  his  twentieth  year,  though  not  published  till  1711, 
established  his  reputation  as  a  writer  of  neat,  clear,  sparkling,  and 
elegant  verse.  The  Rape  of  the  Lock  raised  his  reputation  still 
higher.  Macaulay  pronounced  it  his  best  poem,  De  Quincey 
declared  it  to  be  "  the  most  exquisite  monument  of  playful  fancy 
that  universal  literature  offers."  Another  critic  has  called  it  the 
"perfection  of  the  mock-heroic."  Pope's  most  successful  poem — if 
we  measure  it  by  the  fame  and  the  money  it  brought  him — was  his 
translation  of  the  Iliad  of  Homer.  A  great  scholar  said  of  this 
translation  that  it  was  "a  very  pretty  poem,  but  not  Homer."  Tl;e 
fact  is  that  Pope  did  not  translate  directly  from  the  Greek,  but  from 
a  French  or  a  Latin  version  which  lie  kept  beside  him.  Whatever 
its  faults,  and  however  great  its  deficiency  as  a  representation  of  the 
powerful  and  deep  simplicity  of  the  original  Greek,  no  one  can  deny 
the  charm  and  finish  of  its  versification,  or  the  rapidity,  facility,  and 
melody  of  the  flow  of  the  verse.  These  qualities  make  this  work 
unique  in  English  poetry. 


896  HISTOEY   OF   ENGI.ISH   LITERATURE. 

12.  After  finishing  the  Iliad,  Pope  undertook  a  translation  of  the 
Odyssey  of  Homer.  This  was  not  so  successful ;  nor  was  it  so  well 
done.  In  fact,  Pope  translated  only  half  of  it  himself ;  the  other 
half  was  written  by  two  scholars  called  Broome  and  Fenton.  His 
liext  great  poem  was  the  Dunciad, — a  satire  upon  those  petty  writers, 
carping  critics,  and  hired  defamers  who  had  tried  to  write  down  the 
reputation  of  Pope's  Homeric  work,  "The  composition  of  the 
'  Dunciad '  revealed  to  Pope  where  his  true  strength  lay,  in  blending 
personalities  with  moral  reflections." 

13.  Pope's  greatest  works  were  written  between  1V30  and  1740  ; 
and  they  consist  of  the  Moral  Essays,  the  Essay  on  Man,  and  the 
Epistles  and  Satires.  These  poems  are  full  of  the  finest  thoughtSj 
expressed    in    the    most    perfect    form.      Mr    Ruskin    quotes   the 

£ouplet — 

"  Never  elated,  while  one  man's  oppressed ; 
Never  dejected,  whilst  another's  blessed," — 

as  ''  the  most  complete,  concise,  and  lofty  expression  of  moral  temper 
existing  in  English  words."  The  poem  of  Pope  wliich  shows  his  best 
and  most  striking  qualities  in  their  most  characteristic  form,  is 
probably  the  Epistle  to  Dr  Arbutlinot  or  Prologue  to  the 
Satires.  In  this  poem  occur  the  celebrated  lines  about  Addison — 
which  make  a  perfect  portrait,  although  it  is  far  from  being  a  true 
likeness. 

His  pithy  lines  and  couplets  have  obtained  a  permanent  place  in 
literature.     Thus  we  have  : — 

'*  True  wit  is  nature  to  advantage  dressed. 
What  oft  was  thought,  but  ne'er  so  well  expressed." 

"  Good-nature  and  good-sense  must  ever  join. 
To  err  is  human,  to  forgive  divine." 

*'  All  seems  infected  that  the  infected  spy. 
As  all  looks  yellow  to  the  jaundic'd  eye." 

**  Fear  not  the  anger  of  the  wise  to  raise  ; 
Those  best  can  bear  reproof  who  merit  praise." 

The  greatest  conciseness  is  visible  in  his  epigrams  and  in  his  com- 
pliments : — 

"  A  Aile  encomium  doubly  ridicules : 

There's  nothing  blackens  like  the  ink  of  fools." 

"  And  not  a  vanity  is  given  in  vain." 

"  Would  ye  be  blest  ?  despise  low  joys,  low  gains, 
Disdain  whatever  Combury  disdains, 
Be  virtuous,  and  be  happy  for  your  pains." 


FIRST   HALF   OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  397 

14.  Pope  is  tlie  foremost  literary  figure  of  his  age  and  century  ; 
and  he  is  also  the  head  of  a  school.  He  brought  to  perfection  a  style 
of  writing  verse  which  was  followed  by  hundreds  of  clever  writers. 
Cowper  says  of  him  ; — 

"  But  Pope — his  musical  finesse  was  such, 
So  nice  his  ear,  so  dehcate  Ms  touch, — 
Made  poetry  a  mere  mechanic  art. 
And  every  warbler  has  his  tune  by  heart." 

Pope  was  not  the  poet  of  nature  or  of  humanity ;  he  was  the  poet  of 
"  the  town,"  and  of  the  Court.  He  was  greatly  influenced  by  the 
neatness  and  polish  of  French  verse  ;  and,  from  his  boyhood,  his 
great  ambition  was  to  be  "  a  correct  poet."  He  worked  and  worked, 
polished  and  polished,  until  each  idea  had  received  at  his  hands 
its  very  neatest  and  most  epigrammatic  expression.  In  the  art  of 
condensed,  compact,  pointed,  and  yet  harmonious  and  flowing  verse. 
Pope  has  no  equal.  But,  as  a  vehicle  for  poetry — for  the  love  and 
sympathy  with  nature  and  man  which  every  true  poet  must  feel, 
Pope's  verse  is  artificial ;  and  its  style  of  expression  has  now  died 
out.  It  was  one  of  the  chief  missions  of  Wordsworth  to  drive  the 
Popian  second-hand  vocabulary  out  of  existence. 

15.  James  Thomson  (1700-1748),  the  poet  of  The  Seasons,  was 
born  at  Ednam  in  Eoxburghshire,  Scotland,  in  the  year  1700.  He 
was  educated  at  the  grammar-school  of  Jedburgh,  and  then  at  the 
University  of  Edinburgh.  It  was  intended  that  he  should  enter  the 
ministry  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  but,  before  his  college  course 
was  finished,  he  had  given  up  this  idea :  poetry  proved  for  him  too 
strong  a  magnet.  "While  yet  a  young  man,  he  had  written  his  poem 
of  "Winter ;  and,  with  that  in  his  pocket,  he  resolved  to  try  his 
fortune  in  London.  While  walking  about  the  streets,  looking  at  the 
shops,  and  gazing  at  the  new  wonders  of  the  vast  metropolis,  his 
pocket  was  picked  of  his  pocket-handkerchief  and  his  letters  of 
introduction  ;  and  he  found  himself  alone  in  London  —  thrown 
entirely  on  his  own  resources.  A  publisher  was,  however,  in  time 
found  for  Winter  ;  and  the  poem  slowly  rose  into  appreciation  and 
popularity.  This  was  in  1726.  Next  year,  Summer;  two  years 
after.  Spring  appeared  ;  while  Autumn,  in  1730,  completed  the 
Seasons.  The  Castle  of  Indolence — a  poem  in  the  Spenserian 
stanza — appeared  in  1748.  In  the  same  year  he  was  appointed 
Surveyor-General  of  the  Leeward  Islands,  though  he  never  visited 
the  scene  of  his  duty,  but  had  his  work  done  by  deputy.     He  died 

t  Kew  in  the  vear  174S. 


398  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

16.  Tliomson's  place  as  a  poet  is  high  in  the  second  rank.  His 
Seasons  have  always  been  popular  ;  and,  when  Coleridge  found  a 
well-thumbed  and  thickly  dog's-eared  copy  lying  on  the  window-sill 
of  a  country  inn,  he  exclaimed  "  This  is  true  fame  !  "  His  Castle 
of  Indolence  is,  however,  a  finer  piece  of  poetical  work  than  any 
of  his  other  writings.  The  first  canto  is  the  best.  But  the  Seasons 
have  been  much  more  widely  read ;  and  a  modern  critic  says  :  "  No 
poet  has  given  the  special  pleasure  which  poetry  is  capable  of  gi"vnng 
to  so  large  a  number  of  persons  in  so  large  a  measure  as  Thomson." 
Thomson  is  very  unequal  in  his  style.  Sometimes  he  rises  to  a  great 
height  of  inspired  expression  ;  at  other  times  he  sinks  to  a  dull  dead 
level  of  pedestrian  prose.  His  power  of  describing  scenery  is  often 
very  remarkable.  Professor  Craik  says  :  "  There  is  no  other  poet 
who  surrounds  us  with  so  much  of  the  truth  of  nature  ; "  and  he 
calls  the  Castle  of  Indolence  "  one  of  the  gems  of  the  lanQ;ua^e." 


17.  Thomas  Gray  (1716-1771),  the  greatest  elegiac  poet  of  the 
century,  was  born  in  London  in  1716.  His  father  was  a  "money- 
scrivener,"  as  it  was  called  ;  in  other  words,  he  was  a  stock- 
broker. His  mother's  brother  was  an  assistant  -  master  at  Eton  ; 
and  at  Eton,  under  the  care  of  this  uncle.  Gray  was  brought 
up.  One  of  his  schoolfellows  was  the  famous  Horace  Wal- 
pole.  After  leaving  school,  Gray  proceeded  to  Cambridge  ;  but, 
instead  of  reading  mathematics,  he  studied  classical  literature, 
history,  and  modern  languages,  and  never  took  his  degree.  After 
some  years  spent  at  Cambridge,  he  entered  himself  of  the  Inner 
Temple  ;  but  he  never  gave  much  time  to  the  study  of  law.  His 
father  died  in  1741;  and  Gray,  soon  after,  gave  up  the  law  and 
went  to  live  entirely  at  Cambridge.  The  first  published  of  his 
poems  was  the  Ode  on  a  Distant  Prospect  of  Eton  College. 
The  Elegy  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard  was  handed  about 
in  manuscript  before  its  publication  in  1750  ;  and  it  made  his 
reputation  at  once.  In  1755  the  Progress  of  Poesy  was  published  ; 
and  the  ode  entitled  The  Bard  was  begun.  In  1768  he  was  ap- 
pointed Professor  of  Modern  History  at  Cambridge  ;  but,  though  he 
etudied  hard,  he  never  lectured.  He  died  at  Cambridge,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-four,  in  the  year  1771.  Gray  was  never  married.  He  was 
said  by  those  who  knew  him  to  be  the  most  learned  man  of  his  time 
in  Europe.  Literature,  history,  and  several  sciences — all  were  thor- 
oughly known  to  him.  He  had  read  everything  in  the  world  that 
was  best  worth  reading  ;  while  his  knowledge  of  botany,  zoology, 
and  entomology  was  both  wide  and  exact. 


FIRST   HALF   OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  399 

18.  Gray's  Elegy  took  him  seven  years  to  write  ;  it  contains  thirty- 
two  stanzas  ;  and  Mr  Palgrave  says  "  they  are  perhaps  the  noblest 
stanzas  in  the  language."  General  Wolfe,  when  sailing  down  to 
attack  Quebec,  recited  the  Elegy  to  his  officers,  and  declared,  "  Now,_, 
gentlemen,  I  would  rather  be  the  author  of  that  poem  than  take 
Quebec."  Lord  Byron  called  the  Elegy  "  the  corner-stone  of  Gray's 
poetry."  Gray  ranks  with  Milton  as  the  most  finished  workman  in 
English  verse  ;  and  certainly  he  spared  no  pains.  Gray  said  himself 
that  "  the  style  he  aimed  at  was  extreme  conciseness  of  expression, 
yet  pure,  perspicuous,  and  musical ; "  and  this  style,  at  which  he 
aimed,  he  succeeded  fully  in  achieving.  One  of  the  finest  stanzas 
in  the  whole  Elegy  is  the  last,  which  the  writer  omitted  in  all  the 
later  editions  : — 

'*  There  scattered  oft,  the  earliest  of  the  year, 

By  hands  unseen,   are  showers  of  violets  found ; 
The  red-breast  loves  to  build  and  warble  there, 
And  little  footsteps  lightly  print  the  ground." 


19.  "William  Collins  (1721-1759),  one  of  the  truest  lyrical  poets 
of  the  century,  was  born  at  Chichester  on  Christmas-day,  1721. 
He  was  educated  at  Winchester  School ;  afterwards  at  Queen's, 
and  also  at  Magdalen  College,  Oxford.  Before  he  left  school  he 
had  written  a  set  of  poems  called  Persian  Eclogues.  He  left 
the  university  with  a  reputation  for  ability  and  for  indolence  ; 
went  to  London  "  with  many  projects  in  his  head  and  little  money 
in  his  pocket ; "  and  there  found  a  kind  and  fast  friend  in  Dr 
Johnson,  His  Odes  appeared  in  1747.  The  volume  fell  still- 
born from  the  press  :  not  a  single  copy  was  sold  ;  no  one  bought, 
read,  or  noticed  it.  In  a  fit  of  furious  despair,  the  unhappy  author 
called  in  the  whole  edition  and  burnt  every  copy  with  his  own 
hands.  And  yet  it  was,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  songs  of 
Burns,  the  truest  poetry  that  had  appeared  in  the  whole  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  A  great  critic  says :  "  In  the  little  book  there 
was  hardly  a  single  false  note  :  there  was,  above  all  things,  a  purity 
of  music,  a  clarity  of  style,  to  which  I  know  of  no  parallel  in 
English  verse  from  the  death  of  Andrew  Marvell  to  the  birth  of 
William  Blake."  Soon  after  this  great  disappointment  he  went  to 
live  at  Richmond,  where  he  formed  a  friendship  with  Thomson 
and  other  poets.  In  1749  he  wrote  the  Ode  on  the  Death  of 
Thomson,  beginning — 

"In  yonder  grave  a  Druid  lies" — 
one  of  the  finest  of  his  poems.     Not  long  after,  he  was  attacked  by  a 


400  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

disease  of  the  brain,  from  which  he  suffered,  at  interval,  during  the 
remainder  of  his  short  life.  He  died  at  Chichester  in  1759,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-eight. 

20.  CoUins's  best  poem  is  the  Ode  to  Evening ;  his  most  elab- 
orate, the  Ode  on  the  Passions ;  and  his  best  known,  the  Ode 
beginning — 

"  How  sleep  the  brave,  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blessed  ! " 

His  latest  and  best  critic  says  of  his  poems  :  "  His  range  of 
flight  was  perhaps  the  narrowest,  but  assuredly  the  highest,  of 
his  generation.  He  could  not  be  taught  singing  like  a  finch,  but 
he  struck  straight  upward  for  the  sun  like  a  lark.  .  .  .  The  direct 
sincerity  and  purity  of  their  positive  and  straightforward  inspiration 
will  always  keep  his  poems  fresh  and  sweet  in  the  senses  of  all  men. 
He  was  a  solitary  song-bird  among  many  more  or  less  excellent 
pipers  and  pianists.  He  could  put  more  spirit  of  colour  into  a  single 
stroke,  more  breath  of  music  into  a  single  note,  than  could  all  the 
rest  of  his  generation  into  all  the  labours  of  their  lives." 


CHAPTEE    YII. 

THE   SECOND. HALF    OP    THE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY. 

1.  Prose  -  Writers. — The  four  greatest  prose-writers  of  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  are  Johnson,  Goldsmith, 
Burke,  and  Gibbon.  Dr  Johnson  was  the  most  prominent 
literary  figure  in  London  at  this  period  ;  and  filled  in  his  own 
time  much  the  same  position  in  literary  circles  as  Carlyle  held 
later  on.  He  wrote  on  many  subjects — but  chiefly  on  literature 
and  morals ;  and  hence  he  was  called  "  The  Great  Moralist." 
Goldsmith  stands  out  clearly  as  the  writer  of  the  most  pleasant 
and  easy  prose ;  his  pen  was  ready  for  any  subject ;  and  it  has 
been  said  of  him  with  perfect  truth,  that  he  touched  nothing 
that  he  did  not  adorn.  Burke  was  the  most  eloquent  writer 
of  his  time,  and  by  far  the  greatest  political  thinker  that 
England  has  ever  produced.  He  is  known  by  an  essay  he 
wrote  when  a  very  young  man — on  "  The  Sublime  and  Beauti- 
ful "  ;  JDut  it  is  to  his  speeches  and  political  writings  that  we 
must  look  for  his  noblest  thoughts  and  most  eloquent  language. 
Gibbon  is  one  of  the  greatest  historians  and  most  powerful 
writers  the  world  has  ever  seen. 


2.  Samuel  Johnson  (1709-1784),  the  great  essayist  and  lexico- 
grapher, was  born  at  Lichfield  in  the  year  1709.  His  father  was  a 
bookseller ;  and  it  was  in  his  father's  shop  that  Johnson  acquired 
his  habit  of  omnivorous  reading,  or  rather  devouring  of  books.  The 
mistress  of  the  dame's  school,  to  which  he  first  went,  declared  him 


402  HISTORY    OF   ENGLISH    LITERATURE. 

to  be  the  best  scholar  she  ever  had.  After  a  few  years  at  the  free 
grammar-school  of  Lichfield,  and  one  year  at  Stourbridge,  he  went 
to  Pembroke  College,  Oxford,  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  Here  he  did 
not  confine  himself  to  the  studies  of  the  place,  but  indulged  in  a 
wide  range  of  miscellaneous  reading.  He  was  too  poor  to  take  a 
degree,  and  accordingly  left  Oxford  without  graduating.  After 
acting  for  some  time  as  a  bookseller's  hack,  he  married  a  ]\Irs  Porter 
of  Birmingham — a  widow  with  £800.  With  this  money  he  opened  a 
boarding-school,  or  "  academy  "  as  he  called  it ;  but  he  had  never  more 
than  three  scholars — the  most  famous  of  whom  was  the  celebrated 
player,  David  Garrick.  In  1737  he  went  up  to  London,  and  for 
the  next  quarter  of  a  century  struggled  for  a  living  by  the  aid  of 
his  pen.  During  the  first  ten  years  of  his  London  life  he  wrote 
chiefly  for  the  'Gentleman's  Magazine.'  In  1738  his  London — 
a  poem  in  heroic  metre — appeared.  In  1747  he  began  his  famous 
Dictionary;  it  was  completed  in  1755  ;  and  the  University  of 
Oxford  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  M.A.  In  1749  he 
wrote  another  poem — also  in  heroic  metre — the  '  Vanity  of  Human 
Wishes.'  In  1750  he  had  begun  the  periodical  that  raised  his  fame 
to  its  full  height — a  periodical  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  The 
Rambler.  It  appeared  twice  a- week ;  and  Dr  Johnson  wrote 
every  article  in  it  for  two  years.  In  1759  he  published  the  short 
novel  called  Rasselas  :  it  was  written  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his 
mother's  funeral ;  and  he  wrote  it  "  in  the  evenings  of  a  week." 
The  year  1762  saw  him  with  a  pension  from  the  Government  of 
£300  a-year ;  and  henceforth  he  was  free  from  heavy  hack-work  and 
literary  drudgery,  and  could  give  himself  up  to  the  largest  enjoy- 
ment of  that  for  which  he  cared  most — social  conversation.  He  was 
the  best  talker  of  his  time ;  and  he  knew  everybody  worth  knowing 
— Burke,  Goldsmith,  Gibbon,  the  great  painter  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds, 
and  many  other  able  men.  In  1764  he  founded  the  "  Literary  Club," 
which  still  exists  and  meets  in  London.  Oddly  enough,  although  a 
prolific  writer,  it  is  to  another  person — to  Mr  James  Boswell,  who 
first  met  him  in  1763 — that  he  owes  his  greatest  and  most  lasting 
fame.  A  much  larger  number  of  persons  read  Boswell's  Life  of 
Johnson — one  of  the  most  entertaining  books  in  all  literature — 
than  Johnson's  own  works.  Between  the  years  1779  and  1781 
appeared  his  last  and  ablest  work.  The  Lives  of  the  Poets,  which 
were  written  as  prefaces  to  a  collective  edition  of  the  English  PoetSj 
published  by  several  London  booksellers.     He  died  in  1784. 

3.  Johnson's  earlier  style  was  full  of  Latin  words  ;  his  later  style 
is  more  purely  English  than  most  of  the  journalistic  writing  of  the 
present  day.     His  Kambler  is  full  of  "  long-tailed  words  in  osity  and 


SECOND   HALF   OF  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  403 

ation;''  but  his  '  Lives  of  the  Poets '  is  written  in  manly,  vigorous,  and 
idiomatic  English.  In  verse,  he  occupies  a  phice  between  Pope  and 
Goldsmith,  and  is  one  of  the  masters  in  the  "  didactic  school "  of 
English  poetry.  His  rhythm  and  periods  are  swelling  and  sonorous  j 
and  here  and  there  he  equals  Pope  in  the  terseness  and  condensatioi\ 
of  his  language.     The  following  is  a  fair  specimen  : — 

"  Of  all  the  griefs  that  harass  the  distressed, 
Sure  the  most  bitter  is  a  scornful  jest ; 
Fate  never  wounds  more  deep  the  generous  heart, 
Than  when  a  blockhead's  insult  points  the  dart." 


4.  Oliver  Goldsmith  (1728-1774),  poet,  essayist,  historian,  and 
dramatist,  was  born  at  Pallas,  in  the  county  of  Longford,  Ireland,  in 
the  year  1728.  His  father  was  an  Irish  clergyman,  careless,  good- 
hearted,  and  the  original  of  the  famous  Dr  Primrose,  in  The  Vicar 
of  "Wakefield.  He  was  also  the  original  of  the  "  village  preacher  " 
in  The  Deserted  Village. 

"  A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear, 
And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a-year." 

Oliver  was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin  ;  but  he  left  it 
with  no  fixed  aim.  He  thought  of  law,  and  set  off  for  London,  but 
spent  all  his  money  in  Dublin.  He  thought  of  medicine,  and  resided 
two  years  in  Edinburgh.  He  started  for  Leyden,  in  Llolland,  to 
continue  what  he  called  his  medical  studies  ;  but  lie  had  a  thirst  to 
see  the  world — and  so,  with  a  guinea  in  his  pocket,  one  shirt,  and  a 
flute,  he  set  out  on  his  travels  through  the  continent  of  Europe.  At 
length,  on  the  1st  of  February  1756,  he  landed  at  Dover,  after  an 
absence  of  two  years,  without  a  farthing  in  his  pocket.  London 
reached,  he  tried  many  ways  of  making  a  living,  as  assistant  to  an 
apothecary,  physician,  reader  for  the  press,  usher  in  a  school,  writer 
in  journals.  His  first  work  was  'An  Inquiry  into  the  State  of 
Polite  Learning  in  Europe,'  in  1759  ;  but  it  appeared  without  his 
name.  From  that  date  he  wrote  books  of  all  kinds,  poems,  and 
plays.  He  died  in  his  chambers  in  Brick  Court,  Temple,  London,  in 
1774. 

5.  Goldsmith's  best  poems  are  The  Traveller  and  The  Deserted 
Village, — both  written  in  the  Popian  couplet.  His  best  play  is 
She  Stoops  to  Conquer.  His  best  prose  work  is  The  Vicar  of 
Wakefield,  "the  first  genuine  novel  of  domestic  life."  He  also 
wrote  histories  of  England,  of  Rome,  of  Animated  Nature.  All 
this   was   done   as   professional,  nay,   almost   as    hack  work ;    but 


404  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

ahvays  in  a  very  pleasant,  lively,  and  readable  style.  Ease,  grace, 
charm,  naturalness,  pleasant  rhythm,  purity  of  diction — these  were 
the  chief  characteristics  of  his  writings.  "  Almost  to  all  things  could 
he  turn  his  hand  " — poem,  essay,  play,  story,  history,  natural  science. 
Even  when  satirical,  he  was  good-natured  ;  and  his  Retaliation  is 
the  friendliest  and  pleasantest  of  satires.  In  his  poetry,  his  words 
seem  artless,  but  are  indeed  delicately  chosen  with  that  consummate 
art  which  conceals  and  effaces  itself :  where  he  seems  most  simple 
and  easy,  there  he  has  taken  most  pains  and  given  most  labour. 


6.  Edmund  Burke  (1730-1797)  was  born  at  Dublin  in  the  year 
1730.  He  was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin;  and  in  1747 
was  entered  of  the  Middle  Temple,  with  the  purpose  of  reading 
for  the  Bar.  In  1766  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  enter  Parliament 
as  member  for  Wendover,  in  Buckinghamshire ;  and  he  sat  in 
the  House  of  Commons  for  nearly  thirty  years.  While  in  Par- 
liament, he  worked  hard  to  obtain  justice  for  the  colonists  of 
North  America,  and  to  avert  the  separation  of  them  from  the 
mother  country;  and  also  to  secure  good  government  for  India. 
At  the  close  of  his  life,  it  was  his  intention  to  take  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Peers  as  Earl  Beaconsfield — the  title  afterwards  assumed  by 
Mr  Disraeli;  but  the  death  of  his  son,  and  only  child^for  whom 
the  honour  was  really  meant  and  wished — quite  broke  his  heart, 
and  he  never  carried  out  his  purpose.  He  died  at  Beaconsfield  in 
the  year  1797.  The  lines  of  Goldsmith  on  Burke,  in  his  poem  of 
"  Retaliation,"  are  well  known  : — 

"  Here  lies  our  good  Edmund,  whose  genius  was  such 
We  scarcely  can  praise  it  or  blame  it  too  much ; 
Who,  born  for  the  iiniverse,  narrowed  his  mind, 
And  to  party  gave  up  what  was  meant  for  mankind ; 
WTio,  too  deep  for  his  hearers,  still  went  on  refining, 
And  thought  of  convincing  while  they  thought  of  dining." 

7.  Burke's  most  famous  writings  are  Thoughts  on  the  Cause  of 
the  present  Discontents,  published  in  1773;  Reflections  on  the 
French  Revolution  (1790) ;  and  the  Letters  on  a  Regicide 
Peace  (1797).  His  "  Thoughts  "  is  perhaps  the  best  of  his  works  in 
point  of  style  ;  his  "  Reflections,"  are  full  of  passages  of  the  highest 
and  most  noble  eloquence.  Burke  has  been  described  by  a  great  critic 
as  "  the  supreme  \ATiter  of  the  century ; "  and  Macaulay  says,  that 
"  in  richness  of  imagination,  he  is  superior  to  every  orator  ancient 
|,nd  modern."  In  the  power  of  expressing  thought  in  the  strongest, 
fullest,  and  most  vivid  manner,  he  must  be  classed  with  Shakespeare 


SECOND   HALF   OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  405 

and  Bacon — and  with  these  writers  when  at  their  best.  He  indulges 
in  repetitions  ;  but  the  repetitions  are  never  monotonous  ;  they  serve 
to  place  the  subject  in  every  possible  point  of  view,  and  to  enable  us 
to  see  all  sides  of  it.  He  possessed  an  enormous  vocabulary,  and  had 
the  fullest  power  over  it ;  "  never  was  a  man  under  whose  hands 
language  was  more  plastic  and  ductile."  He  is  very  fond  of  met- 
aphor, and  is  described  by  an  able  critic  as  "  the  greatest  master  of 
metaphor  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.^' 


8.  Edward  Gibbon  (1737-1794),  the  second  great  prose-writer 
of  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  born  at  Putney, 
London,  in  1737.  His  father  was  a  wealthy  landowner.  Young 
Gibbon  was  a  very  sickly  child — the  only  survivor  of  a  delicate 
family  of  seven  ;  he  was  left  to  pass  his  time  as  he  pleased,  and 
for  the  most  part  to  educate  himself.  But  he  had  the  run  of 
several  good  libraries  ;  and  he  was  an  eager  and  never  satiated  reader. 
He  was  sent  to  Oxford  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen  ;  and  so  full  was  his 
knowledge  in  some  directions,  and  so  defective  in  others,  that  he 
went  there,  he  tells  us  himself,  "with  a  stock  of  knowledge  that 
might  have  puzzled  a  doctor,  and  a  degree  of  ignorance  of  which  a 
schoolboy  would  have  been  ashamed."  He  was  very  fond  of  dis- 
putation while  at  Oxford;  and  the  Dons  of  the  University  were 
astonished  to  see  the  pathetic  "  thin  little  figure,  with  a  large  head, 
disputing  and  arguing  with  the  greatest  ability."  In  the  course 
of  his  reading,  he  lighted  on  some  French  and  English  books  that 
convinced  him  for  the  time  of  the  truth  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith  ;  he  openly  professed  his  change  of  belief ;  and  this  obliged 
him  to  leave  the  University.  His  father  sent  him  to  Lausanne, 
and  placed  him  under  the  care  of  a  Swiss  clergyman  there,  whose 
arguments  were  at  length  successful  in  bringing  him  back  to  a 
belief  in  Protestantism.  On  his  return  to  England  in  1758,  he 
lived  in  his  father's  house  in  Hampshire;  read  largely,  as  usual; 
but  also  joined  the  Hampshire  militia  as  captain  of  a  company,  and 
the  exercises  and  manoeuvres  of  his  regiment  gave  him  an  insight 
into  military  matters  vhich  was  afterwards  useful  to  him  when 
he  came  to  write  history.  He  published  his  first  work  in  1761.  It 
was  an  essay  on  the  study  of  literature,  and  was  written  in  French. 
In  1770  his  father  died ;  he  came  into  a  fortune,  entered  Parliament, 
where  he  sat  for  eight  years,  but  never  spoke  ;  and,  in  1776,  he 
began  his  history  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. This,  by  far  the  greatest  of  his  works,  was  not  completed  till 
1787,  and  was  published  in  1788,  on  his  fifty-first  birthday.     His 


406  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH    LITERATURE. 

account  of  the  completion  of  the  work — it  was  finished  at  Lausanne, 
where  he  had  lived  for  six  years — is  full  of  beauty:  "  It  was  on  the 
day,  or  rather  night,  of  June  27,  1787,  between  the  hours  of  eleven 
and  twelve,  that  I  wrote  the  last  lines  of  the  last  page  in  a  summer- 
house  in  my  garden.  After  laying  down  my  pen,  I  took  several 
turns  in  a  covered  walk  of  acacias,  which  commands  a  prospect  of 
the  country,  the  lake,  and  the  mountains.  The  air  was  temperate, 
the  sky  was  serene.  The  silver  orb  of  the  moon  was  reflected  from 
the  waters,  and  all  nature  was  silent.  I  will  not  describe  the  first 
emotion  of  joy  on  the  recovery  of  my  freedom,  and  perhaps  the 
establishment  of  my  fame.  But  my  pride  was  soon  humbled,  and 
a  sober  melancholy  was  spread  over  my  mind  by  the  idea  that  I  had 
taken  an  everlasting  leave  of  an  old  and  agreeable  companion,  and 
that,  whatever  might  be  the  future  fate  of  my  history,  the  life  of 
the  historian  must  be  short  and  precarious."  Gibbon  died  in  1794, 
about  one  year  before  the  birth  of  another  great  historian,  Grote,  the 
author  of  the  '  History  of  Greece.' 

9.  Gibbon's  book  is  one  of  the  great  historical  works  of  the  world. 
It  covers  a  space  of  about  thirteen  centuries,  from  the  reign  of 
Trajan  (98),  to  the  fall  of  the  Eastern  Empire  in  1453  ;  and  the 
amount  of  reading  and  study  required  to  write  it,  must  have  been 
almost  beyond  the  power  of  our  conceiving.  The  skill  in  arranging 
and  disposing  the  enormous  mass  of  matter  in  his  history  is  also 
unparalleled.  His  style  is  said  by  a  critic  to  be  "  copious,  splendid, 
elegantly  rounded,  distinguished  by  supreme  artificial  skill."  It  is 
remarkable  for  the  proportion  of  Latin  words  employed.  "While 
some  parts  of  our  translation  of  the  Bible  contain  as  much  as  96 
per  cent  of  pure  English  words.  Gibbon  has  only  58  per  cent :  the 
rest,  or  42  per  cent,  are  words  of  Latin  origin.  In  fact,  of  all  our 
great  English  writers,  Gibbon  stands  lowest  in  his  use  of  pure  English 
words  ;  and  the  two  writers  who  come  nearest  him  in  this  respect 
are  Johnson  and  Swift.  The  great  Greek  scholar.  Professor  Porson, 
said  of  Gibbon's  style,  that  "  there  could  not  be  a  better  exercise  for 
a  schoolboy  than  to  turn  a  page  of  it  into  English." 

10.  Poets, — The  chief  poets  of  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  belong  to  a  new  world,  and  show  very  little  trace  in 
their  writings  of  eighteenth-century  culture,  ideas,  or  prejudices. 
Most  of  the  best  poets  who  were  born  in  this  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  and  began  to  write  in  it — such  as  Crabbe  and 
Wordsworth — are  true  denizens,  in  the  character  of  their  minds 
and  feelings,   of  the  nineteenth.      The  greatest  Doets  of  the 


SECOND    HALF   OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  407 

period  are  Cowper,  Crabbe,  and  Burns ;  and  along  with  these 
may  be  mentioned  as  little  inferior,  Chatterton  and  Blake, 
two  of  the  most  original  poets  that  have  appeared  in  any 
literature. 


11.  William  Cowper  (1731-1800),  one  of  the  truest,  purest,  and 
sweetest  of  English  poets,  was  born  at  Great  Berkhampstead,  in 
Hertfordshire,  in  1731.  His  father,  Dr  Cowper,  Aviio  was  a  nephew 
of  Lord  Chancellor  Cowper,  was  rector  of  the  parish,  and  chaplain 
to  George  II.  Young  Cowper  was  educated  at  Westminster  School ; 
and  "the  great  proconsul  of  India,"  Warren  Hastings,  was  one 
of  his  schoolfellows.  After  leaving  Westminster,  he  was  entered 
of  the  Lliddle  Temple,  and  was  also  articled  to  a  solicitor.  At  the 
age  of  thirty-one  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Clerks  to  the  House  of 
Lords  ;  but  he  was  so  terribly  nervous  and  timid,  that  he  threw  up  the 
appointment.  He  was  next  appointed  Clerk  of  the  Journals — a  j  ost 
which  even  the  shyest  man  might  hold ;  but,  when  he  found  that  he 
would  have  to  appear  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  he  went  home 
and  attempted  to  commit  suicide.  When  at  school,  he  had  been  ter- 
ribly and  persistently  bullied ;  and,  about  this  time,  his  mind  had 
been  somewhat  affected  by  a  disappointment  in  love.  The  form  of 
his  insanity  was  melancholia  ;  and  he  had  several  long  and  severe 
attacks  of  the  same  disease  in  the  after-course  of  his  life.  He  had  to 
be  placed  in  the  keeping  of  a  physician ;  and  it  was  only  after  fifteen 
months'  seclusion  that  he  was  able  to  face  the  world.  Giving  up  all 
idea  of  professional  or  of  public  life,  he  went  to  live  at  Huntingdon 
with  the  Laiwins  ;  and,  after  the  death  of  Mr  Unwin,  he  removed 
with  Mrs  Unwin  to  Olney,  in  Buckinghamshire.  Here,  in  1773, 
another  attack  of  melancholia  came  upon  him.  In  1779,  Cowper 
joined  with  Mr  Newton,  the  curate  of  the  parish,  in  publishing  the 
Olney  Hymns,  of  which  he  wrote  sixty-eight.  But  it  was  not  till 
he  was  past  fifty  years  of  age  that  he  betook  himself  seriously  to  the 
writing  of  poetry.  His  first  volume,  which  contained  Table-Talk, 
Conversation,  Retirement,  and  other  poems  in  heroic  metre,  ap- 
peared in  1782.  His  second  volume,  which  included  The  Task  and 
John  Gilpin,  was  published  in  1785.  His  translation  of  the  Iliad 
and  Odyssey  of  Homer — a  translation  into  blank  verse,  which  he 
wrote  at  the  regular  rate  of  forty  lines  a-day — was  published  in  1791. 
Mrs  Unwin  now  had  a  shock  of  paralysis  ;  Cowper  himself  was  again 
seized  with  mental  illness  ;  and  from  1791  till  his  death  in  1800, 
his  condition  was  one  of  extreme  misery,  depression,  and  despair. 
He  thought  himself  an  outcast  from  the  mercy  of  God.     "  I  seem  to 


408  HISTORY  OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

myself,''  lie  wrote  to  a  friend,  "  to  be  scrambling  always  in  the  dark, 
among  rocks  and  precipices,  without  a  guide,  but  with  an  enemy  ever 
at  my  heels,  prepared  to  push  me  headlong."  The  cloud  never  lifted ; 
gloom  and  dejection  enshrouded  all  his  later  years  ;  a  pension  of 
£300  a-year  from  George  III.  brought  him  no  pleasure  ;  and  he  died 
insane,  at  East  Dereham,  in  Norfolk,  in  the  year  1800.  In  the  poem 
of  The  Castaway  he  compares  himself  to  a  drowning  sailor  : — 

"  No  voice  divine  the  storm  allayed, 

No  light  ])ropitious  shone, 
When,  far  from  all  effectual  aid. 

We  perished — each  alone — 
But  I  beneath  a  rougher  sea, 
And  "whelmed  in  hlacker  gulfs  than  he." 

12.  His  greatest  work  is  The  Task;  and  the  best  poem  in  it  is 
probably  "  The  Winter  Evening."  His  best-known  poem  is  John 
Gilpin,  which,  like  "  The  Task,"  he  wrote  at  the  request  of  his 
friend,  Lady  Austen.  His  most  powerful  poem  is  The  Castaway. 
He  always  writes  in  clear,  crisp,  pleasant,  and  manly  English.  He 
himself  says,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  :  "  Perspicuity  is  always  more 
than  half  the  battle.  .  .  A  meaning  that  does  not  stare  you  in  the 
face  is  as  bad  as  no  meaning  ; "  and  this  direction  he  himself  always 
carried  out.  Cowper's  poems  mark  a  new  era  in  poetry  ;  his  style 
is  new,  and  his  ideas  are  new.  He  is  no  follower  of  Pope  ;  Southey 
compared  Pope  and  Cowper  as  "  formal  gardens  in  comparison 
with  woodland  scenery."  He  is  always  original,  always  true — 
true  to  his  own  feeling,  and  true  to  the  object  he  is  describing. 
"  My  descriptions,"  he  writes  of  "  The  Task,"  "  are  all  from  nature  ; 
not  one  of  them  second-handed.  My  delineations  of  the  heart  are 
from  my  own  experience."  Everywhere  in  his  poems  we  find  a 
genuine  love  of  nature  ;  humour  and  pathos  in  his  description  of 
persons ;  and  a  purity  and  honesty  of  style  that  have  never  been 
surpassed.  Many  of  his  well-put  lines  have  passed  into  our  common 
stock  of  everyday  quotations.     Such  are — 

*'  God  made  the  country,  and  man  made  the  town." 

"  Variety's  the  very  spice  of  life 
That  gives  it  all  its  flavour." 

"  The  heart 
May  give  a  useful  lesson  to  the  head, 
And  Learning  wiser  grow  without  his  hooks." 

"  Beware  of  desperate  steps.     The  darkest  day, 
Live  till  to-morrow,  will  have  passed  away." 


SECOND   HALF  OF  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  409 

13.  George  Crabbe  (1754-1832),  the  poet  of  the  poor,  was  born 
at  Aldboroiigh,  in  Suffolk,  on  Christmas  Eve  of  the  year  1754.  He 
stands  thus  midway  between  Goldsmith  and  Wordsworth — mid- 
way between  the  old  and  the  new  school  of  poetry.  His  father 
was  salt-master  —  or  collector  of  salt  duties — at  the  little  seaport. 
After  being  taught  a  little  at  several  schools,  it  was  agreed  that 
George  should  be  made  a  surgeon.  He  was  accordingly  apprenticed  ; 
but  he  was  fonder  of  writing  verses  than  of  attending  cases.  His 
memory  for  poetry  was  astonishing  ;  he  had  begun  to  write  verses 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  ;  and  he  filled  the  drawers  of  the  surgery  with 
his  poetical  attempts.  After  a  time  he  set  up  for  himself  in  practice 
at  Aldborough  ;  but  most  of  his  patients  were  poor  people  and  poor 
relations,  who  paid  him  neither  for  his  physic  nor  his  advice.  In 
1779  he  resolved  ''to  go  to  London  and  venture  all."  Accordingly, 
he  took  a  berth  on  board  of  a  sailing-packet,  carrying  with  him  a 
little  money  and  a  number  of  manuscript  poems.  But  nothing  suc- 
ceeded with  him ;  he  was  reduced  to  his  last  eii;htpence.  In  this 
strait,  he  wrote  to  the  great  statesman,  Edmund  Burke  ;  and,  while 
the  answer  was  coming,  he  walked  all  night  up  and  down  West- 
minster Bridge.  Burke  took  him  in  to  his  own  house  and  found 
a  publisher  for  his  poems. 

14.  In  1781  The  Library  appeared ;  and  in  the  same  year 
Crabbe  entered  the  Church.  In  1783  he  published  The  Village — 
a  poem  which  Dr  Johnson  revised  for  him.  This  work  won  for  him 
an  established  reputation  ;  but,  for  twenty-four  years  after,  Crabbe 
gave  himself  up  entirely  to  the  care  of  his  parish,  and  published 
only  one  poem — The  Newspaper.  In  1807  appeared  The  Parish 
Register;  in  1810,  The  Borough;  in  1812,  Tales  in  Verse; 
and,  in  1819,  his  last  poetical  work,  Tales  of  the  Hall.  From  this 
time,  till  his  death  in  1832 — thirteen  years  after — he  produced  no  other 
poem.  Personally,  he  was  one  of  the  noblest  and  kindest  of  men  ; 
he  was  known  as  "  the  gentleman  with  the  sour  name  and  the  sweet 
countenance  ; "  and  he  spent  most  of  his  income  on  the  wants  of  others. 

15.  Crabbe's  poetical  work  forms  a  prominent  landmark  in 
English  literature.  His  style  is  the  style  of  the  eighteenth  century 
— with  a  strong  admixture  of  his  own ;  his  way  of  thinking,  and  the 
objects  he  selects  for  description,  belong  to  the  nineteenth.  While 
Pope  depicted  "  the  town,"  politics,  and  abstract  moralities,  Crabbe 
describes  the  country  and  the  country  poor,  social  matters,  real  life — 
the  lowest  and  poorest  life,  and  more  especially,  the  intense  misery 
of  the  village  population  of  his  time  in  the  eastern  counties — 

"the  wild  amphibious  race 
With  sullen  woe  displayed  in  every  face." 


410  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

He  does  not  paint  the  lot  of  the  poor  with  the  rose-coloured  tints 
used  by  Goldsmith  ;  he  boldly  denies  the  existence  of  such  a  village 
as  Auburn  ;  he  groups  such  places  with  Eden,  and  says — 

"Auburn  and  Eden  can  be  found  no  more;" 

he  shows  the  gloomy,  hard,  despairing  side  of  English  country  life. 
He  has  been  called  a  "  Pope  in  worsted  stockings,"  and  "  the  Hogarth 
of  song."     Byron  describes  him  as 

''Nature's  sternest  painter,  yet  the  best." 

Now  and  then  his  style  is  flat,  and  even  coarse  ;  but  there  is  every- 
where a  genuine  power  of  strong  and  bold  painting.  He  is  also 
an  excellent  master  of  easy  dialogue. 

All  of  his  poems  are  written  in  the  Popian  couplet  of  two  ten- 
syllabled  lines. 


16.  Robert  Burns  (1759-1796),  the  greatest  poet  of  Scotland,  was 
born  in  Ayrshire,  two  miles  from  the  town  of  Ayr,  in  1759.  The 
only  education  he  received  from  his  father  was  the  schooling  of  a 
few  months  ;  but  the  family  were  fond  of  reading,  and  Robert^was 
the  most  enthusiastic  reader  of  them  all.  Every  spare  moment  he 
could  find — and  they  were  not  many — he  gave  to  reading  ;  he  sat  at 
meals  "with  a  book  in  one  hand  and  a  spoon  in  the  other;"  and  in 
this  way  he  read  most  of  the  great  English  poets  and  prose-writers. 
This  was  an  excellent  education — one  a  great  deal  better  than  most 
people  receive  ;  and  some  of  our  greatest  men  have  had  no  better. 
But,  up  to  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  had  to  toil  on  his  father's  farm  from 
earlv  morning  till  late  at  night.  In  the  intervals  of  his  work  he  con- 
trived,  by  dint  of  thrift  and  industry,  to  learn  French,  mathematics, 
and  a  little  Latin.  On  the  death  of  his  father,  he  took  a  small  farm, 
but  did  not  succeed.  He  Avas  on  the  point  of  embarking  for  Jamaica, 
where  a  j)ost  had  been  found  for  him,  when  the  news  of  the  success- 
ful sale  of  a  small  volume  of  his  poems  reached  him  ;  and  he  at  once 
changed  his  mind,  and  gave  up  all  idea  of  emigrating.  His  friends 
obtained  for  him  a  post  as  exciseman,  in  which  his  duty  was  to 
gauge  the  quantity  and  quality  of  ardent  spirits  —  a  post  full  of 
dangers  to  a  man  of  his  excitable  and  emotional  temperament.  He 
went  a  great  deal  into  what  was  called  society,  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  many  boon  companions,  acquired  habits  of  intemperance  that 
he  could  not  shake  oflf,  and  died  at  Dumfries  in  1796,  in  his  thirty- 
seventh  year. 

17.  His  best  poems  are  lyrical,  and  he  is  himself  one  of  the  fore- 


SECOND    HALF    OF   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  4H 

most  lyrical  poets  in  tlie  world.  His  songs  have  probably  been  more 
sung,  and  in  more  parts  of  the  globe,  than  the  songs  of  any  other 
writer  that  ever  lived.  They  are  of  every  kind — songs  of  love,  war, 
mirth,  sorrow,  labour,  and  social  gatherings.  Professor  Craik  says  : 
"  One  characteristic  that  belongs  to  whatever  Burns  has  written  is 
that,  of  its  kind  and  in  its  own  way,  it  is  a  perfect  production.  His 
poetry  is,  throughout,  real  emotion  melodiously  uttered,  instinct  with 
passion,  but  not  less  so  with  power  of  thought, — full  of  light  as  well 
as  of  fire."  Most  of  his  poems  are  written  in  the  North-English,  or 
Lowland  -  Scottish,  dialect.  The  most  elevated  of  his  poems  is 
The  Vision,  in  which  he  relates  how  the  Scottish  Muse  found  him 
at  the  plough,  and  crowned  him  with  a  wreath  of  holly.  One  of 
his  longest,  as  well  as  finest  poems,  is  The  Cottar's  Saturday 
Night,  which  is  written  in  the  Spenserian  stanza.  Perhaps  his 
most  pathetic  poem  is  that  entitled  To  Mary  in  Heaven.  It  is 
of  a  singular  eloquence,  elevation,  and  sweetness.  The  first  verse 
runs  thus — 

"  Thou  lingering  star,  with  lessening  ray, 

That  lov'st  to  greet  the  early  morn, 
Again  thou  usher'st  in  the  day 

My  Mary  from  my  soul  was  torn. 
O  Mary  !    dear  departed  shade  ! 

Where  is  thy  place  of  blissful  rest  ? 
See'st  thou  thy  lover  lowly  laid  ? 

Hear'st  thou  the  groans  that  rend  his  breast  ? " 

He  is,  as  his  latest  critic  says,  "  the  poet  of  homely  human  nature  ; " 
and  his  genius  shows  the  beautiful  elements  in  this  homeliness ;  and 
that  what  is  homely  need  not  therefore  be  dull  and  prosaic. 


18.  Thomas  Chatterton  and  William  Blake  are  two  minor 
poets,  of  whom  little  is  known  and  less  said,  but  whose  work  is  of 
the  most  poetical  and  genuine  kind. — Chatterton  was  born  at  Bristol 
in  the  year  1752.  He  was  the  son  of  a  schoolmaster,  who  died  before 
he  was  bom.  He  was  educated  at  Colston's  Blue-Coat  School  in 
Bristol ;  and,  while  at  school,  read  his  way  steadily  through  every 
book  in  three  circulating  libraries.  He  began  to  write  verses  at  the 
age  of  fifteen,  and  in  two  years  had  produced  a  large  number  of  poems 
— some  of  them  of  the  highest  value.  In  1770,  he  came  up  to  Lon- 
don, with  something  under  five  pounds  in  his  pocket,  and  his  mind 
made  up  to  try  his  fortune  as  a  literary  man,  resolved,  though  he 
was  only  a  boy  of  seventeen,  to  live  by  literature  or  to  die.  Accord- 
ingly, he  set  to  work  and  wrote  every  kind  of  production — poems. 


412  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

essays,  stories,  political  articles,  songs  for  public  singers ;  and  all  the 
time  he  was  half  starving.  A  loaf  of  bread  lasted  him  a  week  ;  and  it 
was  "  bought  stale  to  make  it  last  longer."  He  had  made  a  friend  of 
the  Lord  Mayor,  Beckford  ;  but  before  he  had  time  to  hold  out  a  hand 
to  the  struggling  boy,  Beckford  died.  The  struggle  became  harder 
and  harder — more  said  more  hopeless  ;  his  neighbours  offered  a  little 
help — a  small  coin  or  a  meal — he  rejected  all ;  and  at  length,  on  the 
evening  of  the  24tli  August  1770,  he  went  up  to  his  garret,  locked 
himself  in,  tore  up  all  his  manuscripts,  took  poison,  and  died.  He 
was  only  seventeen. 

19.  Wordsworth   and  Coleridge  spoke  with  awe  of  his  genius 
Keats  dedicated  one  of  his  poems  to  his  memory  ;  and  Coleridge 
copied  gome  of  his  rhythms.     One  of  his  best  poems  is  the  Min- 
strel's Roundelay — 

"  0  sing  unto  my  roundelay, 

0  drop  the  briny  tear  with  me, 
Dance  no  more  on  holy-day, 
Like  a  running  river  be. 
My  love  is  dead, 
Gone  to  his  death -bed 
All  under  the  willow-tree. 

"  Black  his  hair  as  the  winter  night, 
White  his  skin  as  the  summer  snow, 
Red  his  face  as  the  morning  light, 
Cold  he  lies  in  the  grave  below. 
My  love  is  dead, 
Gone  to  his  death-bed 
All  under  the  willow-tree." 


20.  William  Blake  (1757-1827),  one  of  the  most  original  poets 
tbat  ever  lived,  was  born  in  London  in  the  year  1757.  He  was 
brought  up  as  an  engraver  ;  worked  steadily  at  his  business,  and 
did  a  great  deal  of  beautiful  work  in  that  capacity.  He  in  fact 
illustrated  his  own  poems — each  page  being  set  in  a  fantastic  design 
of  his  own  invention,  which,  he  himself  engraved.  He  was  also 
his  own  printer  and  publisher.  The  first  volume  of  his  poems  was 
published  in  1783  ;  the  Songs  of  Innocence,  probably  his  best, 
appeared  in  1787.  He  died  in  Fountain  Court,  Strand,  London, 
in  the  year  1827. 

21.  His  latest  critic  says  of  Blake  :  "  His  detachment  from  the 
ordinary  currents  of  practical  thought  left  to  his  mind  an  unspoiled 
and  delightful  simplicity  which  has  perhaps  never  been  matched  in 
English  poetry."     Simplicity — the  perfect  simplicity  of  a  child — 


SECOND   HALF  OF  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  413 

"beautiful  simplicity — simple  and  childlike  beauty, — such  is  the  chief 
note  of  the  poetry  of  Blake.  "  Where  he  is  successful,  his  work  has 
the  fresh  perfume  and  perfect  grace  of  a  flower."  The  most  remark- 
able point  about  Blake  is  that,  while  living  in  an  age  when  the  poetry 
of  Pope — and  that  alone  —  was  everywhere  paramount,  his  poems 
show  not  the  smallest  trace  of  Pope's  influence,  but  are  absolutely 
original.  His  work,  in  fact,  seems  to  be  the  first  bright  streak  of  the 
golden  dawn  that  heralded  the  approach  of  the  full  and  splendid 
daylight  of  the  poetry  of  "Wordsworth  and  Coleridge,  of  Shelley  and 
Byron.  His  best-known  poems  are  those  from  the  '  Songs  of  Inno- 
cence ' — such  as  Piping  down  the  valleys  wild ;  The  Lamb ;  The 
Tiger,  and  others.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  element  in  Blake's 
poetry  is  the  sweetness  and  naturalness  of  the  rhythm.  It  seems 
careless,  but  it  is  always  beautiful  ;  it  grows,  it  is  not  made  ;  it 
is  like  a  wild  field-flower  thrown  up  by  Nature  in  a  pleasant  green 
field.     Such  are  the  rhythms  in  the  poem  entitled  Night  :— 

"  The  sun  descending  in  the  west, 
The  evening  star  does  shine  ; 
The  birds  are  silent  in  their  nest, 
And  I  must  seek  for  mine. 
The  moon,  like  a  flower 
In  heaven's  high  bower, 
With  silent  delight 
Sits  and  smiles  on  the  night. 

**  Farewell,  green  fields  and  happy  grove. 
Where  flocks  have  ta'en  delight ; 
Where  lambs  have  nibbled,  silent  move 
The  feet  of  angels  bright : 
Unseen  they  pour  blessing, 
And  joy  without  ceasing, 
On  each  bud  and  blossom, 
On  each  sleeping  bosom." 


CHAPTEE    VIII. 

THE   FIRST    HALF    OF    THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY, 

1.  New  Ideas. — The  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  are  alike  remarkable  for  the  new 
powers,  new  ideas,  and  new  life  thrown  into  society.  The 
coming  up  of  a  high  flood-tide  of  new  forces  seems  to  coincide 
with  the  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution  in  1789,  when 
the  overthrow  of  the  Bastille  marked  the  downfall  of  the  old 
ways  of  thinking  and  acting,  and  announced  to  the  world  of 
Europe  and  America  that  the  old  regime — the  ancient  mode 
of  governing — was  over.  Wordsworth,  then  a  lad  of  nineteen, 
was  excited  by  the  event  almost  beyond  the  bounds  of  self- 
control.     He  says  in  his  "Excursion" — 

"  Bliss  was  it  in  that  dawn  to  be  alive. 
But  to  be  young  was  very  Heaven  !  " 

It  was,  indeed,  the  dawn  of  a  new  day  for  the  peoples  of 
Europe.  The  ideas  of  freedom  and  equality — of  respect  for 
man  as  man — were  thrown  into  popular  form  by  France  ;  they 
became  living  powers  in  Europe ;  and  in  England  they  ani- 
mated and  inspired  the  best  minds  of  the  time — Burns,  Cole- 
ridge, Wordsworth,  Shelley,  and  Byron.  Along  with  this  high 
tide  of  hope  and  emotion,  there  was  such  an  outburst  of  talent 
and  genius  in  every  kind  of  human  endeavour  in  England,  as 
was  never  seen  before  except  in  the  Elizabethan  period.  Great 
events  produced  great  powers ;  and  great  powers  in  their  turn 


FIKST  HALF   OF  NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  415 

brought  about  great  events.  The  war  with  America,  the  long 
struggle  with  Xapoleon,  the  new  political  ideas,  great  victories 
by  sea  and  land, — all  these  were  to  be  found  in  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  English  race  produced  great 
men  in  numbers — almost,  it  might  be  said,  in  groups.  We  had 
great  leaders,  like  jN'elson  and  Wellington;  brilliant  generals, 
like  Sir  Charles  I^apier  and  Sir  John  ]\Ioore  ;  great  statesmen, 
like  Fox  and  Pitt,  like  Washington  and  Franklin;  great  en- 
gineers, like  Stephenson  and  Erunel ;  and  great  poets,  like 
Wordsworth  and  Byron.  And  as  regards  literature,  an  able 
critic  remarks  :  "We  have  recovered  in  thi^  century  the  Eliza- 
bethan magic  and  passion,  a  more  than  Elizabethan  sense  of 
the  beauty  and  complexity  of  nature,  the  Elizabethan  music  of 
language." 

2.  Great  Poets. — The  greatest  poets  of  the  fost  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century  may  be  best  arranged  in  groups.  There 
were  ■Wordsw^orth,  Coleridge,  and  Southey — commonly,  but 
unnecessarily,  described  as  the  Lake  Poets.  In  their  poetic 
thought  and  expression  they  had  little  in  common;  and  the 
fact  that  two  of  them  lived  most  of  their  lives  in  the  Lake 
country,  is  not  a  sufficient  justification  for  the  use  of  the  term. 
There  were  Scott  and  Campbell — both  of  them  Scotchmen. 
There  were  Byron  and  Shelley — both  Englishmen,  both  brought 
up  at  the  great  public  schools  and  the  universities,  bat  both  car- 
ried away  by  the  influence  of  the  new  revolutionary  ideas. 
Lastly,  there  were  Moore,  an  Irishman,  and  young  Keats,  the 
splendid  promise  of  whose  youth  went  out  in  an  early  death. 
Let  us  learn  a  little  more  about  each,  and  in  the  order  of  the 
dates  of  their  birth. 


3.  William  Wordsworth  (1770-1850)  was  born  at  Cocker- 
mouth,  a  town  in  Cumberland,  which  stands  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Cocker  and  the  Derwent.  His  father,  John  Wordsworth,  was 
law  agent  to  Sir  James  Lowther,  who  afterwards  became  Earl  of 
Lonsdale.  William  was  a  boy  of  a  stiff",  moody,  and  violent  temper; 
and  as  his  mother  died  when  he  was  a  very  little  boy,  and  his  father 
when  he  was  fourteen,  he  grew  up  with  very  little  care  from  his 


416  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

parents  and  guardians.  He  was  sent  to  school  at  Hawkshead,  in  the 
Vale  of  Esthwaite,  in  Lancashire  ;  and,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  pro- 
ceeded to  St  John's  College,  Cambridge.  After  taking  his  degree  of 
B.A.  in  1791,  he  resided  for  a  year  in  France.  He  took  sides  with 
one  of  the  parties  in  the  Reign  of  Terror,  and  left  the  country  only 
in  time  to  save  his  head.  He  was  designed  by  his  uncles  for  the 
Church  ;  but  a  friend,  Raisley  Calvert,  dying,  left  him  .£900;  and  he 
now  resolved  to  live  a  plain  and  frugal  life,  to  join  no  profession,  but 
to  give  himself  wholly  up  to  the  writing  of  poetry.  In  1798,  he 
published,  along  with  his  friend,  S.  T.  Coleridge,  the  Lyrical 
Ballads.  The  only  work  of  Coleridge's  in  this  volume  was  the 
"Ancient  Mariner."  In  1802  he  married  Mary  Hutchinson,  of 
whom  he  speaks  in  the  well-known  lines — 


Her  eyes  as  stars  of  Twilight  fair, 
Like  Twilight's,  too,  her  dusky  hair ; 
But  all  things  else  about  her  drawn 
From  May-time  and  the  cheerful  dawn.' 


He  obtained  the  post  of  Distributor  of  Stamps  for  the  county  of 
Westmoreland;  and,  after  the  death  of  Southey,  he  was  created 
Poet-Laureate  by  the  Queen. — He  settled  with  his  wife  in  the 
Lake  country  ;  and,  in  1813,  took  up  his  abode  at  Rydal  Mount, 
where  he  lived  till  his  death  in  1850.  He  died  on  the  23d  of  April 
— the  death-day  of  Shakespeare. 

4.  His  longest  works  are  the  Excursion  and  the  Prelude — both 
being  parts  of  a  longer  and  greater  work  which  he  intended  to  write 
on  the  growth  of  his  own  mind.  His  best  poems  are  his  shorter 
pieces,  such  as  the  poems  on  Lucy,  The  Cuckoo,  the  Ode  to  Duty, 
the  Intimations  of  Immortality,  and  several  of  his  Sonnets.  He 
says  of  his  own  poetry  that  his  purj)ose  in  Avriting  it  was  "  to  console 
the  afflicted ;  to  add  sunshine  to  daylight  by  making  the  happy 
happier;  to  teach  the  young  and  the  gracious  of  every  age  to 
see,  to  think,  and  feel,  and  therefore  to  become  more  actively  and 
securely  virtuous."  His  poetical  work  is  the  noble  landmark  of  a 
great  transition — both  in  thought  and  in  style.  He  drew  aside 
poetry  from  questions  and  interests  of  mere  society  and  the  town 
to  the  scenes  of  Nature  and  the  deepest  feelings  of  man  as  man. 
In  stvle,  he  refused  to  employ  the  old  artificial  vocabulary  which 
Pope  and  his  followers  revelled  in ;  he  used  the  simplest  words  he 
could  find ;  and,  when  he  hits  the  mark  in  his  simplest  form  of  e^'- 
pression,  his  style  is  as  forcible  as  it  is  true.  He  says  oi  his  own 
verse — 


FIEST   HALF   OF  NINETEENTH  CENTUKY.  417 

*•  The  moving  accident  is  not  my  trade, 
To  freeze  the  blood  I  have  no  ready  arts ; 
'Tis  my  delight,  alone,  in  summer  shade, 
To  pipe  a  simple  song  for  thinking  hearts." 

If  one  were  asked  what  four  lines  of  his  poetry  best  convey  the  feel- 
ing  of  the  whole,  the  reply  must  be  that  these  are  to  be  found  in  his 
"  Song  at  the  Feast  of  Brougham  Castle/' — lines  written  about  "  the 
good  Lord  Clifford." 

"  Love  had  he  found  in  huts  where  poor  men  lie. 
His  daily  teachers  had  been  woods  and  rills, — 
The  silence  that  is  in  the  starry  sky, 
The  sleep  that  is  among  the  lonely  hills." 


5.  Walter  Scott  (1771-1832),  poet  and  novelist,  the  son  of 
a  Scotch  attorney  (called  in  Edinburgh  a  W.S.  or  Writer  to  H.M.'s 
Signet),  was  born  there  in  the  year  1771.  He  was  educated  at  the 
High  School,  and  then  at  the  College — now  called  the  University 
— of  Edinburgh.  In  1792  he  was  called  to  the  Scottish  Bar,  or 
became  an  "advocate."  During  his  boyhood,  he  had  had  several 
illnesses,  one  of  which  left  him  lame  for  life.  Through  those  long 
periods  of  sickness  and  of  convalescence,  he  read  Percy's  'Reliques 
of  Ancient  Poetry,'  and  almost  all  the  romances,  old  plays,  and  epic 
poems  that  have  been  published  in  the  English  language.  This 
gave  his  mind  and  imagination  a  set  which  they  never  lost  all 
through  life. 

6.  Plis  first  publications  were  translations  of  German  poems.  In 
the  year  1805,  however,  an  original  poem,  the  Lay  of  the  Last 
Minstrel,  appeared ;  and  Scott  became  at  one  bound  the  foremost 
poet  of  the  day.  Marmion,  the  Lady  of  the  Lake,  and  other 
poems,  followed  with  great  rapidity.  But,  in  1814,  Scott  took  it 
into  his  head  that  his  poetical  vein  was  worked  out ;  the  star  of 
Byron  was  rising  upon  the  literary  horizon ;  and  he  now  gave  him- 
self up  to  novel-writing.  His  first  novel,  "Waverley,  appeared 
anonymously  in  1814.  Guy  Mannering,  Old  Mortality,  Rob 
Roy,  and  others,  quickly  followed ;  and,  though  the  secret  of  the 
authorship  was  well  kept  both  by  printer  and  publisher,  Walter 
Scott  was  generally  believed  to  be  the  writer  of  these  works,  and  he 
was  frequently  spoken  of  as  "  the  Great  Unknown."  He  was  made 
a  baronet  by  George  IV.  in  1820. 

7.  His  expenses  in  building  Abbotsford,  and  his  desire  to  acquire 
land,  induced  him  to  go  into  partnership  with  Ballantyne,  his  printer, 
and  with  Constable,  his  publisher.     Both  firms  failed  in  the  dark 


418  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

year  of  1826  ;  and  Scott  found  himself  unexpectedly  liable  for  the 
large  sum  of  i>147,000.  Such  a  load  of  debt  would  have  utterly 
crushed  most  men  ;  but  Scott  stood  clear  and  undaunted  in  front  of 
it.  "Gentlemen,"  he  said  to  his  creditors,  "time  and  I  against  any 
two.  Let  me  take  this  good  ally  into  my  company,  and  I  believe 
I  shall  be  able  to  pay  you  every  farthing."  He  left  his  beautiful 
country  house  at  Abbotsford ;  he  gave  up  all  his  country  pleasures ; 
he  surrendered  all  his  property  to  his  creditors ;  he  took  a  small  house 
in  Edinburgh  ;  and,  in  the  short  space  of  five  years,  he  had  paid  off 
;£1 30,000.  But  the  task  was  too  terrible ;  the  pace  had  been  too  hard ; 
and  he  was  struck  down  by  paralysis.  But  even  this  disaster  did  not 
daunt  him.  Again  he  went  to  work,  and  again  he  had  a  paralytic 
stroke.  At  last,  however,  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  ;  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  day  placed  a  royal  frigate  at  his  disposal ;  he  went  to 
Italy  ;  but  his  health  had  utterly  broken  down,  he  felt  he  could  get 
no  good  from  the  air  of  the  south,  and  he  turned  his  face  towards 
home  to  die.  He  breathed  his  last  breath  at  Abbotsford,  in  sight  of 
his  beloved  Tweed,  with  his  family  around  him,  on  the  21st  of  Sep- 
tember 1832. 

8.  His  poetry  is  the  poetry  of  action.  In  imaginative  power  he 
ranks  below  no  other  poet,  except  Homer  and  Shakespeare.  He 
delighted  in  war,  in  its  movement,  its  pageantry,  and  its  events  ; 
and,  though  lame,  he  was  quartermaster  of  a  volunteer  corps  of 
cavalry.  On  one  occasion  he  rode  to  muster  one  hundred  miles  in 
twenty-four  hours,  composing  verses  by  the  way.  Much  of  "  Marmion  " 
was  composed  on  horseback.  "  I  had  many  a  grand  gallop,"  he  says, 
"  when  I  was  thinking  of  *  Marmion.' "  His  two  chief  powers  in  verse 
are  his  narrative  and  his  pictorial  power.  His  boyhood  was  passed 
in  the  Borderland  of  Scotland — "  a  district  in  which  every  field  has 
its  battle  and  every  rivulet  its  song  ; "  and  he  was  at  home  in  every 
part  of  the  Highlands  and  the  Lowlands,  the  Islands  and  the  Borders, 
of  his  native  country.  But,  both  in  his  novels  and  his  poems,  he  was 
a  painter  of  action  rather  than  of  character. 

9.  His  prose  works  are  now  much  more  read  than  his  poems  ;  but 
both  are  full  of  life,  power,  literary  skill,  knowledge  of  men  and 
women,  and  strong  sympathy  with  all  past  ages.  He  wrote  so  fast 
that  his  sentences  are  often  loose  and  ungrammatical ;  but  they  are 
never  unidiomatic  or  stiff.  The  rush  of  a  strong  and  large  life  goes 
through  them,  and  carries  the  reader  along,  forgetful  of  all  minor 
blemishes.  His  best  novels  are  Old  Mortality  and  Kenil worth. ; 
his  greatest  romance  is  Ivanhoe. 

10.  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge  (1772-1834),  a  true  poet,  and 


FIRST  HALF   OF  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  419 

a  writer  of  noble  prose,  was  bom  at  Ottery  St  Mary,  in  Devonshire, 
in  1772.  His  father,  who  was  vicar  of  the  parish,  and  master 
of  the  grammar  -  school,  died  when  the  boy  was  only  nine  years 
of  age.  He  was  educated  at  Christ's  Hospital,  in  London,  where 
his  most  famous  schoolfellow  was  Charles  Lamb  ;  and  from  there 
he  went  to  Jesus  College,  Cambridge.  In  1793  he  had  fallen  into 
debt  at  College ;  and,  in  despair,  left  Cambridge,  and  enlisted 
in  the  15th  Light  Dragoons,  under  the  name  of  Silas  Tomkins 
Comberbatch.  He  was  quickly  discovered,  and  his  discharge  soon 
obtained.  While  on  a  visit  to  his  friend  Eobert  Southey,  at 
Bristol,  the  plan  of  emigrating  to  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna,  in 
Pennsylvania,  was  entered  on ;  but,  when  all  the  friends  and  fellow- 
emigrants  were  ready  to  start,  it  was  discovered  that  no  one  of  them 
had  any  money. — Coleridge  finally  became  a  literary  man  and  jour- 
nalist. His  real  power,  however,  lay  in  poetry  ;  but  by  poetry  he 
could  not  make  a  living.  His  first  volume  of  poems  was  published 
at  Bristol,  in  the  year  1796  ;  but  it  was  not  till  1798  that  the  Rime 
of  the  Ancient  Mariner  appeared  in  the  '  Lyrical  Ballads.'  His 
next  greatest  poem,  Christabel,  though  written  in  1797,  was  not 
published  till  the  year  1816.  His  other  best  poems  are  Love; 
Dejection — an  Ode ;  and  some  of  his  shorter  pieces.  His  best 
poetry  was  written  about  the  close  of  the  century  :  "  Coleridge," 
said  Wordsworth,  "was  in  blossom  from  1796  to  1800." — As  a  critic 
and  prose- writer,  he  is  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  time.  His  best 
works  in  prose  are  The  Friend  and  the  Aids  to  Reflection.  He 
died  at  Highgate,  near  London,  in  the  year  1834. 

11.  His  style,  both  in  prose  and  in  verse,  marks  the  beginning  of 
the  modern  era.  His  prose  style  is  noble,  elaborate,  eloquent,  and 
full  of  subtle  and  involved  thought ;  his  style  in  verse  is  always 
musical,  and  abounds  in  rhythms  of  the  most  startling  and  novel — 
yet  always  genuine — kind.  Christabel  is  th«  poem  that  is  most 
full  of  these  fine  musical  rhythms. 


12.  Robert  Southey  (1774-1843),  poet,  reviewer,  historian, 
but,  above  all,  man  of  letters,  —  the  friend  of  Coleridge  and 
Wordsworth, — was  born  at  Bristol  in  1774.  He  was  educated  at 
Westminster  School  and  at  Balliol  College,  Oxford.  After  his  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Edith  Fricker — a  sister  of  Sara,  the  wife  of  Cole- 
ridge— he  settled  at  Greta  Hall,  near  Keswick,  in  1803  ;  and  resided 
there  until  his  death  in  1843.  In  1813  he  was  created  Poet- 
Ijaureate  by  George  III. — He  was  the  most  indefatigable  of  writers. 
He  wrote  poetry  before  breakfast;  history  between  breakfast  and 


420  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

dinner ;  reviews  between  dinner  and  supper  ;  and,  even  when  taking 
a  constitutional,  he  had  always  a  book  in  his  hand,  and  walked  along 
the  road  reading.     He  began  to  write  and  to  publish  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  ;  he  never  ceased  writing  till  the  year  1837,  when  his  brain- 
softened  from  the  effects  of  perpetual  labour. 

13.  Southey  wrote  a  great  deal  of  verse,  but  much  more  prose. 
His  prose  works  amount  to  more  than  one  hundred  volumes  ;  but  his 
poetry,  such  as  it  is,  will  probably  live  longer  than  his  prose.  His 
best-known  poems  are  Joan  of  Arc,  written  when  he  was  nineteen ; 
Thalaba  the  Destroyer,  a  poem  in  irregular  and  unrhymed  verse ; 
The  Curse  of  Kehama,  in  verse  rhymed,  but  irregular  ;  and 
Roderick,  the  last  of  the  Goths,  written  in  blank  verse.  He 
will,  however,  always  be  best  remembered  by  his  shorter  pieces, 
such  as  The  Holly  Tree,  Stanzas  -written  in  My  Library,  and 
others. — His  most  famous  prose  work  is  the  Life  of  Nelson.  His 
prose  style  is  always  firm,  clear,  compact,  and  sensible. 


14.  Thomas  Campbell  (1777-1844),  a  noble  poet  and  brilliant 
reviewer,  was  born  in  Glasgow  in  the  year  1777.  He  was  educated 
at  the  High  School  and  the  University  of  Glasgow.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  he  published  his  Pleasures  of  Hope,  Avhich  at 
once  gave  him  a  place  high  among  the  poets  of  the  day.  In  1803 
he  removed  to  London,  and  followed  literature  as  his  profession ; 
and,  in  1806,  he  received  a  pension  of  ,£200  a  -  year  from  the 
Government,  which  enabled  him  to  devote  the  whole  of  his  time  to 
his  favourite  study  of  poetry.  His  best  long  poem  is  the  Gertrude 
of  "Wyoming,  a  tale  written  in  the  Spenserian  stanza,  which 
he  handles  with  great  ease  and  power.  But  he  is  .best  known, 
and  will  be  longest  remembered,  for  his  short  lyrics  —  which 
glow  with  passionate  and  fiery  eloquence — such  as  The  Battle  of 
the  Baltic,  Ye  Mariners  of  England,  Hohenlinden,  and 
others.  He  was  twice  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  of  Glasgow. 
He  died  at  Boulogne  in  1844,  and  was  buried  in  Poets'  Corner, 
Westminster  Abbey. 


15.  Thomas  Moore  (1779-1852),  poet,  biographer,  and  historian 
— ^but  most  of  all  poet — was  born  in  Dublin  in  the  year  1779. 
He  began  to  print  verses  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  may  be  said, 
like  Pope,  to  have  "  lisped  in  numbers,  for  the  numbers  came." 
He  came  to  London  in  1799,  and  was  quickly  received  into 
fashionable  society.      In  1803  he  was   made   Admiralty  Registrar 


FIEST   HALF   OF   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  421 

at  Bermuda  ;  but  he  soon  gave  up  the  post,  leaving  a  deputy 
in  his  place,  who,  some  years  after,  embezzled  the  Government 
funds,  and  brought  financial  ruin  upon  Moore.  The  poet's  friends 
offered  to  help  him  out  of  his  money  difficulties  ;  but  he  most 
honourably  declined  all  such  help,  and,  like  Sir  W.  Scott,  re- 
solved to  clear  off  all  claims  against  him  by  the  aid  of  his  pen  alone. 
For  the  next  twenty  years  of  his  life  he  laboured  incessantly;  and 
volumes  of  poetry,  history,  and  biography  came  steadily  from  his 
pen.  His  best  poems  are  his  Irish  Melodies,  some  fifteen  or  six- 
teen of  which  are  perfect  and  imperishable  ;  and  it  is  as  a  writer 
of  songs  that  Moore  will  live  in  the  literature  of  this  country. 
He  boasted,  and  with  truth,  that  it  was  he  who  awakened  for  this 
century  the  long-silent  harp  of  his  native  land — 

"  Dear  Harp  of  my  Country  !    in  darkness  I  found  thee. 
The  cold  chain  of  silence  had  hung  o'er  thee  long, 
When  proudly,  my  own  Island  Harp,  I  unbound  thee, 
And  gave  all  thy  chords  to  light,  freedom,  and  song." 

His  best  long  poem  is  Lalla  Rookh.. — His  prose  works  are  little 
read  nowadays.  The  chief  among  them  are  his  Life  of  Sheridan, 
and  his  Life  of  Lord  Byron. — He  died  at  Sloperton,  in  Wiltshire, 
in  1852,  two  years  after  the  death  of  Wordsworth. 


16.  George  Gordon,  Lord  Byron  (1788-1824),  a  great  English 
poet,  was  born  in  London  in  the  year  1788.  He  was  the  only  child 
of  a  reckless  and  unprincipled  father  and  a  passionate  mother.  He 
was  educated  at  Harrow  School,  and  afterwards  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge.  His  first  volume — Hours  of  Idleness — was  published 
in  1807,  before  he  was  nineteen.  A  critique  of  this  juvenile  work 
which  appeared  in  the  '  Edinburgh  Review '  stung  him  to  passion  ; 
and  he  produced  a  very  vigorous  poetical  reply  in  English  Bards 
and  Scotch  Reviewers.  After  the  publication  of  this  book,  Byron 
travelled  in  Germany,  Spain,  Greece,  and  Turkey  for  two  years  ; 
and  the  first  two  cantos  of  the  poem  entitled  Childe  Harold's 
Pilgrimage  were  the  outcome  of  these  travels.  This  poem  at  once 
placed  him  at  the  head  of  English  poets  ;  "  he  woke  one  morning," 
he  said,  "  and  found  himself  famous."  He  was  married  in  the  year 
1815,  but  left  his  wife  in  the  following  year  ;  left  his  native 
country  also,  never  to  return.  First  of  all  he  settled  at  Geneva, 
where  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  poet  Shelley,  and  where  he 
wrote,  among  other  poems,  the  third  canto  of  Childe  Harold  and 
the  Prisoner  of  Chillon.     In  1817  he  removed  to  Venice,  where  he 


422  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURK 

composed  the  fourth  canto  of  Childe  Harold  and  the  Lament  of 
Tasso ;  his  next  resting-place  was  Ravenna,  where  he  wrote  several 
plays.  Pisa  saw  him  next ;  and  at  this  place  he  spent  a  great  deal 
of  his  time  in  close  intimacy  with  IShelley.  In  1821  the  Greek 
nation  rose  in  revolt  against  the  cruelties  and  oppression  of  the 
Turkish  rule  ;  and  Byron's  sympathies  were  strongly  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  the  Greeks.  He  helped  the  struggling  little  country  with 
contributions  of  money;  and,  in  1823,  sailed  from  Geneva  to  take  a 
personal  share  in  the  war  of  liberation.  He  died,  however,  of  fever, 
at  Missolonghi,  on  the  19th  of  April  1824,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six. 

17.  His  best-known  w^ork  is  Childe  Harold,  which  is  written  in 
the  Spenserian  stanza.  His  plays,  the  best  of  which  are  Manfred 
and  Sardanapalus,  are  written  in  blank  verse. — His  style  is  re- 
markable for  its  strength  and  elasticity,  for  its  immensely  powerful 
sweep,  tireless  energy,  and  brilliant  illustrations. 


18.  Percy  Bysshe  Shelley  (1792-1822), — who  has,  like  Spen- 
ser, been  called  "  the  poet's  poet," — was  born  at  Field  Place,  near 
Horsham,  in  Sussex,  in  the  year  1792.  He  was  educated  at  Eton, 
and  then  at  University  College,  Oxford.  A  shy,  diffident,  retiring 
boy,  with  sweet,  gentle  looks  and  manners — like  those  of  a  girl — 
but  with  a  spirit  of  the  greatest  fearlessness  and  the  noblest  in- 
dependence, he  took  little  share  in  the  sports  and  pursuits  of  his 
schoolfellows.  Obliged  to  leave  Oxford,  in  consequence  of  having 
written  a  tract  of  which  the  authorities  did  not  approve,  he  married 
at  the  very  early  age  of  nineteen.  The  young  lady  whom  he 
married  died  in  1816  ;  and  he  soon  after  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  William  Godwin,  the  eminent  author  of  '  Political  Justice.'  In 
1818  he  left  England  for  Italy, — like  his  friend.  Lord  Byron,  for 
ever.  It  was  at  Naples,  Leghorn,  and  Pisa  that  he  chiefly  resided. 
In  1822  he  bought  a  little  boat — "a  perfect  plaything  for  the  sum- 
mer," he  calls  it ;  and  he  used  often  to  make  short  voyages  in  it,  and 
■wrote  many  of  his  poems  on  these  occasions.  When  Leigh  Hunt 
was  lying  ill  at  Leghorn,  Shelley  and  his  friend  Williams  resolved 
on  a  coasting  trip  to  that  city.  They  reached  Leghorn  in  safety ; 
but,  on  the  return  journey,  the  boat  sank  in  a  sudden  squall. 
Captain  Roberts  was  watching  the  vessel  with  his  glass  from  the 
top  of  the  Leghorn  lighthouse,  as  it  crossed  the  Bay  of  Spezzia  :  a 
black  cloud  arose ;  a  storm  came  down ;  the  vessels  sailing  with 
Shelley's  boat  were  wrapped  in  darkness  ;  the  cloud  passed  ;  the 
Bun  shone  out,  and  all  was  clear  again  ;  the  larger  vessels  rode  on  ; 
but  Shelley's  boat  had  disappeared.     The  poet's  body  was  cast  on 


FIRST   HALF  OF  NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  423 

shore,  but  the  quarantine  laws  of  Italy  required  that  everything 
thrown  up  on  the  coast  should  be  burned  :  no  representations  could 
alter  the  law  ;  and  Shelley's  ashes  were  placed  in  a  box  and  buried 
in  the  Protestant  cemetery  at  Eome. 

19.  Shelley's  best  long  poem  is  the  Adonais,  an  elegy  on  the  death 
of  John  Keats.  It  is  written  in  the  Spenserian  stanza.  But  this 
true  poet  will  be  best  remembered  by  liis  short  lyrical  poems,  such 
as  The  Cloud,  Ode  to  a  Skylark,  Ode  to  the  "West  Wind, 
Stanzas  -written  in  Dejection,  and  others.  —  Shelley  has  been 
called  "  the  poet's  poet,"  because  his  style  is  so  thoroughly  transfused 
by  pure  imagination.  He  has  also  been  called  "  the  master-singer 
of  our  modern  race  and  age  ;  for  his  thoughts,  his  words,  and  his 
deeds  all  sang  together."  He  is  probably  the  greatest  lyric  poet  of 
this  century. 


20.  John  Keats  (1795-1821),  one  of  our  truest  poets,  was 
born  in  Moorfields,  London,  in  the  year  1795.  He  was  educated 
at  a  private  school  at  Enfield.  His  desire  for  the  pleasures  of 
the  intellect  and  the  imagination  showed  itself  very  early  at  school ; 
and  he  spent  many  a  half-holiday  in  writing  translations  from 
the  Eoman  and  the  Frencli  poets.  On  leaving  school,  he  was 
apprenticed  to  a  surgeon  at  Edmonton — the  scene  of  one  of  John 
Gilpin's  adventures  ;  but,  in  1817,  he  gave  up  the  practice  of  surgery, 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  poetry,  and  brought  out  his  first  volume. 
In  1818  appeared  his  Endymion.  The  '  Quarterly  Review '  handled 
it  without  mercy.  Keats's  health  gave  way ;  the  seeds  of  consump- 
tion were  in  his  frame  ;  and  he  was  ordered  to  Italy  in  1820,  as  the 
last  chance  of  saving  his  life.  But  it  was  too  late.  The  air  of  Italy 
could  not  restore  him.  He  settled  at  Rome  with  his  friend  Severn  ; 
but,  in  spite  of  all  the  care,  thought,  devotion,  and  watching  of  his 
friend,  he  died  in  1821,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five.  He  was  buried 
in  the  Protestant  cemetery  at  Rome  ;  and  the  inscription  on  his 
tomb,  composed  by  himself,  is,  "  Here  lies  one  whose  name  icas  wrif; 
in  water." 

21.  His  greatest  poem  is  Hyperion,  written,  in  blank  verse,  on 
the  overthrow  of  the  "  early  gods  "  of  Greece.  But  he  will  most 
probably  be  best  remembered  by  his  marvellous  odes,  such  as  the 
Ode  to  a  Nightingale,  Ode  on  a  Grecian  Urn,  To  Autumn, 
and  others.  His  style  is  clear,  sensuous,  and  beautiful ;  and  he  has 
added  to  our  literature  lines  that  will  always  live.  Such  are  the 
following  : — 

"  A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  for  ever." 


424  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

"  Silent,  upon  a  peak  in  Darien.'' 

"  Then  felt  I  like  some  watcher  of  the  skies 
When  a  new  planet  swims  into  his  ken." 

*'  Perhaps  the  self-same  song  that  found  a  path 
Through  the  sad  heart  of  Ruth,  when,  sick  for  home, 
She  stood  in  tears  amid  the  alien  corn." 


22.  Prose-Writers. — We  have  now  to  consider  the  greatest 
prose-writers  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  First 
comes  Walter  Scott,  one  of  the  greatest  novelists  that  ever 
lived,  and  who  won  the  name  of  "  The  Wizard  of  the  J^orth  " 
from  the  marvellous  power  he  possessed  of  enchaining  the 
attention  and  fascinating  the  minds  of  his  readers.  Two  other 
great  writers  of  prose  were  Charles  Lamb  and  Walter  Savage 
Lander,  each  in  styles  essentially  different.  Jane  Austen, 
a  young  English  lady,  has  become  a  classic  in  prose,  because  her 
work  is  true  and  perfect  within  its  own  sphere.  De  Quincey 
is  perhaps  the  writer  of  the  most  ornate  and  elaborate  English 
prose  of  this  period.  Thomas  Carlyle,  a  great  Scotsman,  with 
a  style  of  overwhelming  power,  but  of  occasional  grotesqueness, 
like  a  great  prophet  and  teacher  of  the  nation,  compelled  states- 
men and  philanthropists  to  think,  while  he  also  gained  for  him- 
self a  high  place  in  the  rank  of  historians.  Macaulay,  also  of 
Scottish  descent,  was  one  of  the  greatest  essayists  and  ablest 
writers  on  history  that  Great  Britain  has  produced.  A  short 
survey  of  each  of  these  great  men  may  be  useful.  Scott  has 
been  already  treated  of. 


23.  Charles  Lamb  (1775-1834),  a  perfect  English  essayist, 
was  born  in  the  Inner  Temple,  in  London,  in  the  year  1775. 
His  father  was  clerk  to  a  barrister  of  that  Inn  of  Court.  Charles 
was  educated  at  Christ's  Hospital,  where  his  most  famous  school- 
fellow  was  S.  T.  Coleridge.  Brought  up  in  the  very  heart  of 
London,  he  had  always  a  strong  feeling  for  the  greatness  of  the 
metropolis  of  the  world.  "  I  often  shed  tears,"  he  said,  "  in  the 
motley  Strand,  for  fulness  of  joy  at  so  much  life."  He  was,  indeed, 
ft  thorough  Cockney  and  lover  of  London,  as  were  also  Chaucer, 


FIEST   HALF   OF  NINETEENTH   CENTUEY.  425 

Spenser,  Milton,  and  Lamb's  friend  Leigh  Hunt.  Entering  the  India 
House  as  a  clerk  in  the  year  1792,  he  remained  there  thirty-three 
years  ;  and  it  was  one  of  his  odd  sayings  that,  if  any  one  wanted  to 
see  his  "works,"  he  would  find  them  on  the  shelves  of  the  India 
House. — He  is  greatest  as  a  writer  of  prose ;  and  his  prose  is,  in 
its  w^ay,  unequalled  for  sweetness,  grace,  humour,  and  quaint  terms, 
among  the  writings  of  this  century.  His  best  prose  work  is  the 
Essays  of  Ella,  which  show  on  every  page  the  most  whimsical  and 
humorous  subtleties,  a  quick  play  of  intellect,  and  a  deep  sympathy 
with  the  sorrows  and  the  joys  of  men.  Very  little  verse  came  from 
his  pen.  "  Charles  Lamb's  nosegay  of  verse,"  says  Professor  Dowden, 
"  may  be  held  by  the  small  hand  of  a  maiden,  and  there  is  not  in  it 
one  flaunting  flower."  Perhaps  the  best  of  his  poems  are  the  short 
pieces  entitled  Hester  and  The  Old  Familiar  Faces. — He  retired 
from  the  India  House,  on  a  pension,  in  1825,  and  died  at  Edmonton, 
near  London,  in  1834.  His  character  was  as  sweet  and  refined  as  his 
style  ;  Wordsworth  spoke  of  him  as  "  Lamb  the  frolic  and  the 
gentle ; "  and  these  and  other  fine  qualities  endeared  him  to  a  large 
circle  of  friends. 


24.  Walter  Savage  Landor  (1775-1864),  the  greatest  prose- 
writer  in  his  own  style  of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  born  at 
Ipsley  Court,  in  Warwickshire,  on  the  30th  of  January  1775 — the 
anniversary  of  the  execution  of  Charles  I.  He  was  educated  at 
Rugby  School  and  at  Oxford  ;  but  his  fierce  and  insubordinate 
temper — which  remained  with  him,  and  injured  him  all  his  life- 
procured  his  expulsion  from  both  of  these  places.  As  heir  to  a 
large  estate,  he  resolved  to  give  himself  up  entirely  to  literature  ; 
and  he  accordingly  declined  to  adopt  any  profession.  Living  an 
almost  purely  intellectual  life,  he  wrote  a  great  deal  of  prose 
and  some  poetry ;  and  his  first  volume  of  poems  appeared  before  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  His  life,  which  began  in  the  reign 
of  George  III.,  stretched  through  the  reigns  of  George  TV.  and 
William  IV.,  into  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  Queen  Victoria ;  and, 
in  the  course  of  this  long  life,  he  had  manifold  experiences,  many 
loves  and  hates,  friendships  and  acquaintanceships,  with  persons  of 
every  sort  and  rank.  He  joined  the  Spanish  army  to  fight  Napo- 
leon, and  presented  the  Spanish  Government  with  large  sums  of 
money.  He  spent  about  thirty  years  of  his  life  in  Florence,  where 
he  wrote  many  of  his  w^orks.  He  died  at  Florence  in  the  year  1864. 
His  greatest  prose  work  is  the  Imaginary  Conversations ;  his  best 
poem  is  Count  Julian;  and  the  character  of  Count  Julian  has  been 


426  HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

ranked  by  De  Quincey  with  the  Satan  of  Milton.  Some  of  his 
smaller  poetic  pieces  are  perfect ;  and  there  is  one,  Rose  Aylmer, 
written  about  a  dear  young  friend,  that  Lamb  was  never  tired  of 
repeating  : — 

*'  Ah  !  what  avails  the  sceptred  race  ! 
Ah  !   what  the  form  divine  ! 
What  every  virtue,  every  grace  ! 
Rose  Aylmer,  all  were  thine  ! 

*'  Rose  Aylmer,  whom  these  wakeful  eyes 
Shall  weep,  but  never  see  I 
A  night  of  memories  and  sighs 
I  consecrate  to  thee." 


25.  Jane  Austen  (1775-1817),  the  most  delicate  and  faithful 
painter  of  English  social  life,  was  born  at  Steventon,  in  Hamp- 
shire, in  1775— in  the  same  year  as  Landor  and  Lamb,  She  wrote 
a  small  number  of  novels,  most  of  which  are  almost  perfect  in 
their  minute  and  true  painting  of  character.  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
Macaulay,  and  other  great  writers,  are  among  her  fervent  admirers. 
Scott  says  of  her  writing  :  "  The  big  bow-wow  strain  I  can  do  myself, 
like  any  now  going  ;  but  the  exquisite  touch  which  renders  ordinary 
commonplace  things  and  characters  interesting,  from  the  truth  of  the 
description  and  the  sentiment,  is  denied  to  me."  She  works  out  her 
characters  by  making  them  reveal  themselves  in  their  talk,  and  by 
an  infinite  series  of  minute  touches.  Her  two  best  novels  are  Emma 
and  Pride  and  Prejudice.  The  interest  of  them  depends  on  the 
truth  of  the  painting  ;  and  many  thoughtful  persons  read  through 
the  whole  of  her  novels  every  year. 


26.  Thomas  De  Quincey  (1785-1859),  one  of  our  most  brilliant 
essayists,  was  born  at  Greenheys,  Manchester,  in  the  year  1785. 
He  was  educated  at  the  Manchester  grammar  -  school  and  at 
Worcester  College,  Oxford.  While  at  Oxford  he  took  little  share 
in  the  regular  studies  of  his  college,  but  read  enormous  numbers 
of  Greek,  Latin,  and  English  books,  as  his  taste  or  whim  sug- 
gested. He  knew  no  one  ;  he  hardly  knew  his  own  tutor.  "  Eor 
the  first  two  years  of  my  residence  in  Oxford,"  he  says,  "  I  com- 
pute that  I  did  not  utter  one  hundred  words,"  After  leaving 
Oxford,  he  lived  for  about  twenty  years  in  the  Lake  country ;  and 
there  he  became  acquainted  with  Wordsworth,  Hartley  Coleridge 
(the  son  of  S.  T.  Coleridge),  and  Joha  Wilscai  (afterwards  known  as 


FIRST   HALF  OF   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  427 

Professor  Wilson,  and  also  as  the  "Christopher  Nortli"  of  'Black- 
wood's Magazine ').  Suffering  from  repeated  attacks  of  neuralgia,  he 
gradually  formed  the  habit  of  taking  laudanum  ;  and  hy  the  time  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  thirty,  he  drank  about  8000  drops  a-day. 
This  unfortunate  habit  injured  his  powers  of  work  and  weakened  his 
will.  In  spite  of  it,  however,  he  wrote  many  hundreds  of  essays  and 
articles  in  reviews  and  magazines.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  he 
lived  either  near  or  in  Edinburgh,  and  was  always  employed  in  dream- 
ing (the  opium  increased  his  power  botli  of  dreaming  and  of  mus- 
ing), or  in  studying  or  writing.  He  died  in  Edinburgh  in  the  year 
1859. — Many  of  his  essays  were  written  under  the  signature  of  "  The 
English  Opium-Eater,"  Probably  his  best  works  are  The  Confes- 
sions of  an  Opium-Eater  and  The  Vision  of  Sudden  Death. 
The  chief  characteristics  of  his  style  are  majestic  rhythm  and  elabo- 
rate eloquence.  Some  of  his  sentences  are  almost  as  long  and  as  sus- 
tained as  those  of  Jeremy  Taylor  ;  while,  in  many  passages  of 
reasoning  that  glows  and  brightens  with  strong  passion  and  emotion, 
he  is  not  inferior  to  Burke.  He  possessed  an  enormous  vocabulary 
— in  wealth  of  words  and  phrases  he  surpasses  both  Macaulay  and 
Carlyle  ;  and  he  makes  a  very  large — perhaps  even  an  excessive — use 
of  Latin  words.  He  is  also  very  fond  of  using  metaphors,  personifi- 
cations, and  other  figures  of  speech.  It  may  be  said  without  exaggera- 
tion that,  next  to  Carlyle's,  De  Quincey's  style  is  the  most  stimulating 
and  inspiriting  that  a  young  reader  can  find  among  modern  writers. 


27.  Thomas  Carlyle  (1795-1881),  a  great  thinker,  essayist, 
and  historian,  was  born  at  Ecclefechan,  in  Dumfriesshire,  in  the 
year  1795.  He  was  educated  at  the  burgh  school  of  Annan, 
and  afterwards  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Classics  and  the 
higher  mathematics  were  his  favourite  studies  ;  and  he  was  more 
especially  fond  of  astronomy.  He  was  a  teacher  for  some  years  after 
leaving  the  University.  For  a  few  years  after  this  he  was  engaged 
in  minor  literary  work ;  and  translating  from  the  German  occupied  a 
good  deal  of  his  time.  In  1826  he  married  Jane  Welsh,  a  woman 
of  abilities  only  inferior  to  his  own.  His  first  original  work  was 
Sartor  Resartus  ("The  Tailor  Repatched"),  which  appeared  in 
1834,  and  excited  a  great  deal  of  attention — a  book  which  has  proved 
to  many  the  electric  spark  which  first  woke  into  life  their  powers  of 
thought  and  reflection.  From  1837  to  1840  he  gave  courses  of  lec- 
tures in  London  ;  and  these  lectures  were  listened  to  by  the  best  and 
most  thouglitful  of  the  London  people.  The  most  striking  series 
afterwards  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  book,  under  the  title  of  Heroes 


428  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

and  Hero-Worship.  Perhaps  his  most  remarkable  book — a  book 
that  is  unique  in  all  English  literature — is  The  French  Revolu- 
tion, \vhieli  appeared  in  1837.  In  the  year  1845,  his  Cromwell's 
Letters  and  Speeches  were  published,  and  drew  after  them  a  large 
number  of  eager  readers.  In  1865  he  completed  the  hardest  piece  of 
work  he  had  ever  undertaken,  his  History  of  Frederick  II.,  com- 
monly called  the  Great.  This  work  is  so  highly  regarded  in 
Germany  as  a  truthful  and  painstaking  history  that  officers  in  the 
Prussian  army  are  obliged  to  study  it,  as  containing  the  best  account 
of  the  great  battles  of  the  Continent,  the  fields  on  which  they  were 
fought,  and  the  strategy  that  went  to  win  them.  One  of  the  crown- 
ing external  honours  of  Carlyle's  life  was  his  appointment  as  Lord 
Eector  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1866  ;  but  at  the  very  time 
that  he  was  delivering  his  famous  and  remarkable  Installation  Ad- 
dress, his  wife  lay  dying  in  London.  This  stroke  brought  terrible 
sorrow  on  the  old  man  ;  he  never  ceased  to  mourn  for  his  loss,  and  to 
recall  the  virtues  and  the  beauties  of  character  in  his  dead  wife  ; 
"  the  light  of  his  life,"  he  said,  "  was  quite  gone  out ; "  and  he  ^^^•ote 
very  little  after  her  death.  He  himself  died  in  London  on  the  5th 
of  February  1881. 

28.  Carlyle's  Style. — Carlyle  was  an  author  by  profession,  a 
teacher  of  and  prophet  to  his  countrymen  by  his  mission,  and  a 
student  of  history  by  the  deep  interest  he  took  in  the  life  of  man. 
He  was  always  more  or  less  severe  in  his  judgments — he  has  been 
called  "  The  Censor  of  the  Age," — because  of  the  high  ideal  which 
he  set  up  for  his  own  conduct  and  the  conduct  of  others. — He  shows 
in  his  historic  writings  a  splendour  of  imagery  and  a  power  of  dra- 
matic grouping  second  only  to  Shakespeare's.  In  command  of  words 
he  is  second  to  no  modern  English  writer.  His  style  has  been  highly 
praised  and  also  energetically  blamed.  It  is  rugged,  gnarled,  dis- 
jointed, full  of  irregular  force— shot  across  by  sudden  lurid  lights  of 
imadnation  —  full  of  the  most  striking  and  indeed  astonishing 
epithets,  and  inspired  by  a  certain  grim  Titanic  force.  His  sen- 
tences are  often  clumsily  built.  He  himself  said  of  them  :  "  Perhaps 
not  more  than  nine-tenths  stand  straight  on  their  legs  ;  the  remainder 
are  in  quite  angular  attitudes  ;  a  few  even  sprawl  out  helplessly  on 
all  sides,  quite  broken-backed  and  dismembered."  There  is  no 
modern  writer  who  possesses  so  large  a  profusion  of  figurative  lan- 
guage. His  works  are  also  full  of  the  pithiest  and  most  memorable 
sayings,  such  as  the  following  : — 

"  Genius  is  an  immense  capacity  for  taking  pains." 

**  Do  the  duty  which  lies  nearest  thee  !  Thy  second  duty  will  already  have 
become  clearer. " 


FIRST   HALF   OF   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  499 

"  History  is  a  mighty  drama,  enacted  upon  the  theatre  of  time,  with  suns 
for  lamps,  and  eternity  for  a  background. " 

"All  true  work  is  sacred.  In  all  true  work,  were  it  but  true  hand-labour, 
there  is  something  of  divineness.  Labour,  wide  as  the  earth,  has  its  summit  in 
heaven." 

"Remember  now  and  always  that  Life  is  no  idle  dream,  but  a  solemn 
reality  based  upon  Eternity,  and  encompassed  by  Eternity.  Find  out  your 
task:  stand  to  it:  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work." 


29.  Thomas  Babington  Macaulay  (1800-1859),  the  most  popu- 
lar of  modern  historians, — an  essayist,  poet,  statesman,  and  orator, 
— was  born  at  Rothley  Temple,  in  Leicestershire,  in  the  year  1800. 
His  father  was  one  of  the  greatest  advocates  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery;  and  received,  after  his  death,  the  honour  of  a  monument  in 
Westminster  Abbey.  Young  Macaulay  was  educated  privately,  and 
then  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  He  studied  classics  with  great 
diligence  and  success,  but  detested  mathematics — a  dislike  the  conse- 
quences of  wl)ich  he  afterwards  deeply  regretted.  In  1824  he  "was 
elected  Fellow  of  his  college.  His  first  literary  work  was  done  for 
Knight's  'Quarterly  Magazine';  but  the  earliest  piece  of  writing 
that  brought  him  into  notice  was  his  famous  essay  on  Milton, 
written  for  the  'Edinburgh  Review'  in  1825.  Several  years  of  his 
life  were  spent  in  India,  as  Member  of  the  Supreme  Council ;  and,  on 
his  return,  he  entered  Parliament,  where  he  sat  as  M.P.  for  Edin- 
bar^h.  Several  offices  were  filled  by  him,  among  others  that  of 
Paymaster- General  of  the  Forces,  with  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet  of  Lord 
John  Russell.  In  1842  appeared  his  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome, 
poems  which  have  found  a  very  large  number  of  readers.  His 
greatest  work  is  his  History  of  England  from  the  Accession 
of  James  II.  To  enable  himself  to  write  this  history  he  read 
hundreds  of  books,  Acts  of  Parliament,  thousands  of  pamphlets, 
tracts,  broadsheets,  ballads,  and  other  flying  fragments  of  literature ; 
and  he  never  seems  to  have  forgotten  anything  he  ever  read.  In 
1849  he  was  elected  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  of  Glasgow;  and 
in  1857  was  raised  to  the  peerage  with  the  title  of  Baron  Macaulay 
of  Rothley — the  first  literary  man  who  was  ever  called  to  the  House 
of  Lords.     He  died  at  Holly  Lodge,  Kensington,  in  the  year  1859. 

30.  Macaulay's  Style. — One  of  the  most  remarkable  qualities  in 
his  style  is  the  copiousness  of  expression,  and  the  remarkable  power 
of  putting  the  same  statement  in  a  large  number  of  diff*erent  ways. 
This  enormous  command  of  expression  corresponded  with  the  extra- 
ordinary power  of  his  memory.     At  the  age  of  eight  he  could  repeat 


430  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

the  whole  of  Scott's  poem  of  "  Marmion."  He  was  fond,  at  this  early- 
age,  of  big  words  and  learned  English  ;  and  once,  when  he  was  asked 
by  a  lady  if  his  toothache  was  better,  he  replied,  "  Madam,  the  agony 
is  abated !  "  He  knew  the  whole  of  Homer  and  of  Milton  by  heart ; 
and  it  was  said  with  perfect  truth  that,  if  Milton's  poetical  works 
could  have  been  lost,  ]\Iacaulay  would  have  restored  every  line  with 
complete  exactness.  Sydney  Smith  said  of  him  :  "  There  are  no 
limits  to  his  knowledge,  on  small  subjects  as  on  great  ;  he  is  like  a 
book  in  breeches."  His  style  has  been  called  "  abrupt,  pointed,  and 
oratorical."  He  is  fond  of  the  arts  of  surprise — of  antithesis — and  of 
epigram.     Sentences  like  these  are  of  frequent  occurrence  : — 

"Cranmer  could  vindicate  himself  from  the  charge  of  being  a  heretic  only 
by  arguments  which  made  him  out  to  be  a  murderer. " 

"  The  Puritan  hated  bear-baiting,  not  because  it  gave  pain  to  the  bear,  but 
because  it  gave  pleasure  to  the  spectators. " 

Besides  these  elements  of  epigram  and  antithesis,  there  is  a  vast 
wealth  of  illustration,  brought  from  the  stores  of  a  memory  which 
never  seemed  to  forget  anything.  He  studied  every  sentence  with 
the  greatest  care  and  minuteness,  and  would  often  rewrite  para- 
graphs and  even  whole  chapters,  until  he  was  satisfied  with  the 
variety  and  clearness  of  the  expression.  "  He  could  not  rest,"  it 
was  said,  "  until  the  punctuation  was  correct  to  a  comma ;  until 
every  paragraph  concluded  with  a  telling  sentence,  and  every  sen- 
tence flowed  like  clear  running  water."  But,  above  all  things,  he 
strove  to  make  his  style  perfectly  lucid  and  immediately  intelligible. 
He  is  fond  of  countless  details  ;  but  he  so  masters  and  marshals  these 
details  that  each  only  serves  to  throw  more  light  upon  the  main 
statement.  His  prose  may  be  described  as  pictorial  prose.  The 
character  of  his  mind  was,  like  Burke's,  combative  and  oratorical ; 
and  he  writes  with  the  greatest  vigour  and  animation  when  he  is 
attacking  a  policy  or  an  opinion. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   SECOND    HALF    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

1.  Science. — The  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  is 
distinguished  by  the  enormous  advance  made  in  science,  and  in 
the  application  of  science  to  the  industries  and  occupations  of 
the  people.  Chemistry  and  electricity  have  more  especially 
made  enormous  strides.  Within  the  last  twenty  years,  chem- 
istry has  remade  itself  into  a  new  science ;  and  electricity  has 
taken  a  very  large  part  of  the  labour  of  mankind  upon  itself. 
It  carries  our  messages  round  the  world — under  the  deepest  seas, 
over  the  highest  mountains,  to  every  continent,  and  to  every 
great  city;  it  lights  up  our  streets  and  public  halls;  it  drives 
our  engines  and  propels  our  trains.  But  the  powers  of  imagina- 
tion, the  great  literary  powers  of  poetry,  and  of  eloquent  prose, 
— especially  in  the  domain  of  fiction, — have  not  decreased  because 
science  has  grown.  They  have  rather  shown  stronger  develop- 
ments. W"e  must,  at  the  same  time,  remember  that  a  great  deal 
of  the  literary  work  published  by  the  writers  who  lived,  or  are 
still  living,  in  the  latter  half  of  this  century,  was  written  in  the 
former  half.  Thus,  Longfellow  was  a  man  of  forty-three,  and 
Tennyson  was  forty-one,  in  the  year  1850;  and  both  had  by 
that  time  done  a  great  deal  of  their  best  work.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  prose-writers,  Thackeray,  Dickens,  and  Ruskin. 

2.  Poets  and  Prose-Writers. — The  six  greatest  poets  of  the 
latter  half  of  this  century  are  Longfellow,  a  distinguished 
American  poet,  Tennyson,  Mrs  Browning,  Robert  Brown- 


432  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

ing,  "William  Morris,  and  Matthew  Arnold.  Of  these,  Mra 
Erowning  and  Longfellow  are  dead — Mrs  Browning  having  died 
in  1861,  and  Longfellow  in  1882. — The  four  greatest  writers  of 
prose  are  Thackeray,  Dickens,  George  Eliot,  and  Ruskin. 
Of  these,  only  Ruskin  is  alive. 


3.  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow  (1807  - 1882),  the  most 
popular  of  American  poets,  and  as  popular  in  Great  Britain  as  he 
is  in  the  United  States,  was  born  at  Portland,  Maine,  in  the  year 
1807.  He  was  educated  at  Bowdoin  College,  and  took  his  degree 
there  in  the  year  1825.  His  profession  was  to  have  been  the  law; 
but,  from  the  first,  the  whole  bent  of  his  talents  and  character  was 
literary.  At  the  extraordinary  age  of  eighteen  the  professorship  of 
modern  languages  in  his  own  college  was  offered  to  him  ;  it  was 
eagerly  accepted,  and  in  order  to  qualify  himself  for  his  duties,  he 
spent  the  next  four  years  in  Germany,  France,  Spain,  and  Italy. 
His  first  important  prose  work  was  Outre-Mer,  or  a  Pilgrimage 
beyond  the  Sea.  In  1837  he  was  offered  the  Chair  of  Modem 
Languages  and  Literature  in  Harvard  University,  and  he  again  paid 
a  visit  to  Europe — this  time  giving  his  thoughts  and  study  chiefly  to 
Germany,  Denmark,  and  Scandinavia.  In  1839  he  published  the 
prose  romance  called  Hyperion.  But  it  was  not  as  a  prose-writer 
that  Longfellow  gained  the  secure  place  he  has  in  the  hearts  of  the 
English-speaking  peoples  ;  it  was  as  a  poet.  His  first  volume  of 
poems  was  called  Voices  of  the  Night,  and  appeared  in  1841  ; 
Evangeline  was  published  in  1848;  and  Hiawatha,  on  which  his 
poetical  reputation  is  perhaps  most  firmly  based,  in  1855.  Many 
other  volumes  of  poetry — both  original  and  translations — have  also 
come  from  his  pen  ;  but  these  are  the  best.  The  University  of  Ox- 
ford created  him  Doctor  of  Civil  Law  in  1869.  He  died  at  Cambridge 
in  the  year  1882.  A  man  of  singularly  mild  and  gentle  character,  of 
sweet  and  charming  manners,  his  own  lines  may  be  applied  to  him 
with  perfect  appropriateness — 

**  His  gracious  presence  upon  earth 
Was  as  a  fire  upon  a  hearth ; 
As  pleasant  songs,  at  morning  sung, 
The  words  that  dropped  from  his  sweet  tongue 
Strengthened  our  hearts,  or — heard  at  night — 
Made  all  our  slumbers  soft  and  light." 

4.  Longfellow's  Style. — In  one  of  his  prose  works,  Longfellow 
himself  says,  "In  character,  in  manners,  in  style,  in  all  things,  the 


SECOND   HALF   OF  NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  433 

supreme  excellence  is  simplicity."  This  simplicity  he  steadily  aimed 
at,  and  in  almost  all  his  writings  reached  ;  and  the  result  is  the 
sweet  lucidity  which  is  manifest  in  his  best  poems.  His  verse  has 
been  characterised  as  "simple,  musical,  sincere,  sympathetic,  clear 
as  crystal,  and  pure  as  snow."  He  has  written  in  a  great  variety 
of  measures  —  in  more,  perhaps,  than  have  been  employed  by 
Tennyson  himself.  His  "  Evangeline "  is  written  in  a  kind  of 
dactylic  hexameter,  which  does  not  always  scan,  but  which  is  almost 
always  musical  and  impressive — 

*'  Fair  was  she  and  young,  when  in  hope  began  the  long  journey ; 
Faded  was  she  and  old,  when  in  disappointment  it  ended." 

The  "  Hiawatha,"  again,  is  written  in  a  trochaic  measure — each  verse 
containing  four  trochees — • 

*'  '  Farewell ! '  said  he,  "  Minnehaha, 
Farewell,  0  my  laughing  water ! 


All  my  heart  is  buried  with  you, 

All'  my  I  thou'ghts  go  1  on'ward  |  wi'th  you  ! 


>  >» 


He  is  always  careful  and  painstaking  with  his  rhythm  and  with  the 
cadence  of  his  verse.  It  may  be  said  with  truth  that  Longfellow 
has  taught  more  people  to  love  poetry  than  any  other  English  writer, 
however  great. 


5.  Alfred  Tennyson,  a  great  English  poet,  who  has  written 
beautiful  poetry  for  more  than  fifty  years,  was  born  at  Somersby, 
in  Lincolnshire,  in  the  year  1809.  He  is  the  youngest  of  three 
brothers,  all  of  whom  are  poets.  He  was  educated  at  Cambridge, 
and  some  of  his  poems  have  shown,  in  a  striking  light,  the  forgotten 
beauty  of  the  fens  and  flats  of  Cambridge  and  Lincolnshire.  In  1829 
he  obtained  the  Chancellor's  medal  for  a  poem  on  "  Timbuctoo."  In 
1830  he  published  his  first  volume,  with  the  title  of  Poems  chiefly 
Lyrical — a  volume  which  contained,  among  other  beautiful  verses, 
the  "  Eecollections  of  the  Arabian  Nights  "  and  "  The  Dying  Swan." 
In  1833  he  issued  another  volume,  called  simply  Poems;  and  this 
contained  the  exquisite  poems  entitled  "  The  Miller's  Daughter"  and 
"  The  Lotos-Eaters."  The  Princess,  a  poem  as  remarkable  for  its 
striking  thoughts  as  for  its  perfection  of  language,  appeared  in  1847. 
The  In  Memoriam,  a  long  series  of  short  poems  in  memory  of  his 
dear  friend,  Arthur  Henry  Hallam,  the  son  of  Hallam  the  historian, 
was  published  in  the  year  1850.  When  Wordsworth  died  in  1850, 
Tennyson  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Poet-Laureate.  This  office, 
from  the  time  when  Dryden  was  forced  to  resign  it  in  1689,  to  the 


434  HISTORY  OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

time  when  Southey  accepted  it  in  1813,  had  always  been  held  by 
third  or  fourth  rate  writers  ;  in  the  present  day  it  is  held  by  the  man 
who  has  done  the  largest  amount  of  the  best  poetical  work.  The 
Idylls  of  the  King  appeared  in  1859.  This  series  of  poems — per- 
haps liis  greatest — contains  the  stories  of  "Arthur  and  the  Knights 
of  the  Eound  Table."  Many  other  volumes  of  poems  have  been  given 
by  him  to  the  world.  In  his  old  age  he  has  taken  to  the  writing  of 
ballads  and  dramas.  His  ballad  of  The  Revenge  is  one  of  the 
noblest  and  most  vigorous  poems  that  England  has  ever  seen.  The 
dramas  of  Harold,  Queen  Mary,  and  Becket,  are  perhaps  his 
best ;  and  the  last  was  written  when  the  poet  had  reached  the  age 
of  seventy-four.  In  the  year  1882  he  was  created  Baron  Tennyson, 
and  called  to  the  House  of  Peers. 

6.  Tennyson's  Style. — Tennyson  has  been  to  the  last  two  gener- 
ations of  Englishmen  the  national  teacher  of  poetry.  He  has  tried 
many  new  measures  ;  he  has  ventured  on  many  new  rhythms  ;  and 
he  has  succeeded  in  them  all.  He  is  at  home  equally  in  the  slowest, 
most  tranquil,  and  most  meditative  of  rhythms,  and  in  the  rapidest 
and  most  impulsive.  Let  us  look  at  the  following  lines  as  an 
example  of  the  first.  The  poem  is  written  on  a  woman  who  is 
dying  of  a  lingering  disease — 

"  Fair  is  her  cottage  in  its  place, 

"Where  yon  broad  water  sweetly  slowly  glides: 
It  sees  itself  from  thatch  to  base 
Dream  in  the  sliding  tides. 

"  And  fairer  she :   hnt,  ah  !  how  soon  to  die  ! 
Her  quiet  dream  of  life  this  hour  may  cease : 
Her  peaceful  heing  slowly  passes  by 
To  some  more  perfect  peace." 

The  very  next  poem,  "  The  Sailor  Boy,"  in  the  same  volume,  is — 
though  written  in  exactly  the  same  measure — driven  on  with  the 
most  rapid  march  and  vigorous  rhythm — 

*'  He  rose  at  dawn  and,  fired  with  hope, 
Shot  o'er  the  seething  harbour-bar, 
And  reached  the  ship  and  caught  the  rope 
And  whistled  to  the  morning-star." 

And  this  is  a  striking  and  prominent  characteristic  of  all  Tennyson's 
poetry.  Everywhere  the  sound  is  made  to  be  "  an  echo  to  the  sense  " ; 
the  style  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  matter.  In  the  "  Lotos- 
Eaters,"  we  have  the  sense  of  complete  indolence  and  deep  repose 
in — 


SECOND   HALF   OF   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  435 

"  A.  land  of  streams  !     Some,  like  a  downward  smoke, 
Slow-dropping  veils  of  thinnest  lawn,  did  go." 

In  the  "  Boadicea,"  we  have  the  rush  and  the  shock  of  battle,  the 
closing  of  legions,  the  hurtle  of  arms  and  the  clash  of  armed  men — 

"  Phantom  sound  of  blows  descending,  moan  of  an  enemy  massacred, 
Phantom  wail  of  women  and  children,  multitudinous  agonies." 

Many  of  Tennyson's  sweetest  and  most  pathetic  lines  have  gone  right 
into  the  heart  of  the  nation,  such  as — - 

"  But  oh  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still ! " 

All  his  language  is  highly  polished,  ornate,  rich — sometimes  Spen- 
serian in  luxuriant  imagery  and  sweet  music,  sometimes  even  Homeric 
in  massiveness  and  severe  simplicity.  Thus,  in  the  "  Morte  d' Arthur," 
he  speaks  of  the  knight  walking  to  the  lake  as — 

"  Clothed  with  his  breath,  and  looking  as  he  walked, 
Larger  than  human  on  the  frozen  hills." 

Many  of  his  pithy  lines  have  taken  root  in  the  memory  of  the  Eng- 
lish people,  such  as  these — 

"  'Tis  better  to  have  loved  and  lost, 
Tlaan  never  to  have  loved  at  all." 

"  For  words,  like  Nature,  half  reveal. 
And  half  conceal,  the  soul  within." 

"  Kind  hearts  are  more  than  coronets, 
And  simple  faith  than  Norman  blood." 


v.  Elizabeth  Barrett  Barrett,  afterwards  Mrs  Browning,  the 
greatest  poetess  of  this  century,  was  born  in  London  in  the  year 
1809.  She  wrote  verses  "  at  the  age  of  eight — and  earlier,"  she 
says  ;  and  her  first  volume  of  poems  was  published  when  she  was 
seventeen.  When  still  a  girl,  she  broke  a  blood-vessel  upon  the 
luncs,  was  ordered  to  a  warmer  climate  than  that  of  London  ;  and 
her  brother,  whom  she  loved  very  dearly,  took  her  down  to  Tor- 
quay. There  a  terrible  tragedy  was  enacted  before  her  eyes.  One 
day  the  weather  and  the  water  looked  very  tempting  ;  her  brother 
took  a  sailing-boat  for  a  short  cruise  in  Torbay ;  the  boat  went  down 
in  front  of  the  house,  and  in  view  of  his  sister  ;  the  body  was  never 
recovered.  This  sad  event  completely  destroyed  her  already  weak 
health  ;  she  returned  to  London,  and  spent  several  years  in  a  dark- 
ened room.     Here  she  *'  read  almost  every  book  worth  reading  in 


436  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

almost  every  language,  and  gave  herself  heart  and  soul  to  that 
poetry  of  which  she  seemed  born  to  be  the  priestess."  This  way  of 
life  lasted  for  many  years  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  it,  she  published  sev- 
eral vohimes  of  noble  verse.  In  184G  she  married  Robert  Browning, 
also  a  great  poet.  In  1856  she  brought  out  Aurora  Ijeigh,  her 
longest,  and  probably  also  her  greatest,  poem.  Mr  Euskin  called 
it  "  the  greatest  poem  which  the  century  has  produced  in  any  lan- 
guage ; "  but  this  is  goijig  too  far. — Mrs  Browning  will  probably  be 
longest  remembered  by  her  incomparable  sonnets  and  by  her  lyrics, 
which  are  full  of  pathos  and  passion.  Perhaps  her  two  finest  poems 
in  this  kind  are  the  Cry  of  the  Children  and  Cowper's  Grave. 
All  her  poems  show  an  enormous  power  of  eloquent,  penetrating,  and 
picturesque  language  ;  and  many  of  them  are  melodious  with  a  rich 
and  wonderful  music.     She  died  in  1861. 


8.  Egbert  Browning,  the  most  daring  and  original  poet  of  the 
century,  was  born  in  Camberwell,  a  southern  suburb  of  London,  in 
the  year  1812.  He  was  privately  educated.  In  1836  he  published 
his  first  poem  Paracelsus,  which  many  wondered  at,  but  few  read. 
It  was  the  story  of  a  man  who  had  lost  his  way  in  the  mazes  of 
thought  about  life, — about  its  why  and  wherefore, — about  this  world 
and  the  next, — about  himself  and  his  relations  to  God  and  his  fellow- 
men.  ]\Ir  Browning  has  written  many  plays,  but  they  are  more  fit 
for  reading  in  the  study  than  for  acting  on  the  stage.  His  greatest 
work  is  The  Ring  and  the  Book ;  and  it  is  most  probably  by  this 
that  his  name  will  live  in  future  ages.  Of  his  minor  poems,  the  best 
known  and  most  popular  is  The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelln — a  poem 
which  is  a  great  favourite  with  all  young  people,  from  the  pictur- 
esqueness  and  vigour  of  the  verse.  The  most  deeply  pathetic  of  his 
minor  poems  is  Evelyn  Hope : — 

**  So,  hush, — I  will  give  you  this  leaf  to  keep — 
See,  I  shut  it  inside  the  sweet  cold  hand. 
There  !   that  is  our  secret !   go  to  sleep ; 

You  will  wake,  and  remember,  and  understand." 

9.  Bro^WTiing's  Style. — Browning's  language  is  almost  always 
very  hard  to  understand  ;  but  the  meaning,  when  we  have  got  at 
it,  is  well  worth  all  the  trouble  that  may  have  been  taken  to  reach 
it.  His  poems  are  more  full  of  thought  and  more  rich  in  experience 
than  those  of  any  other  English  writer  except  Shakspeare.  The 
thoughts  and  emotions  which  throng  his  mind  at  the  same  moment 
80  crowd  upon  and  jostle  each  other,  become  so  inextricably  inter- 
mingled, that  it  is  very  often  extremely  difiicult  for  us  to  make  out 


SECOND   HALF  OF   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  437 

any  meaning  at  all.  Tlien  many  of  his  thoughts  are  so  subtle  and  so 
profound  that  they  cannot  easily  be  drawn  up  from  the  depths  in 
which  they  lie.  No  man  can  write  with  greater  directness,  greater 
lyric  vigour,  fire,  and  impulse,  than  Browning  when  he  chooses — 
write  more  clearly  and  forcibly  about  such  subjects  as  love  and  war  ; 
but  it  is  very  seldom  that  he  does  choose.  The  infinite  complexity 
of  human  life  and  its  manifold  experiences  have  seized  and  im- 
prisoned his  imagination  ;  and  it  is  not  often  that  he  speaks  in  a 
clear,  free  voice. 


10.  Matthew  Arnold,  one  of  the  finest  poets  and  noblest  stylists 
of  the  age,  was  born  at  Laleham,  near  Staines,  on  the  Thames,  in  the 
year  1822.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  great  Dr  Arnold,  the  famous 
Head-master  of  Rugby.  He  was  educated  at  Winchester  and  Rugby, 
from  which  latter  school  he  proceeded  to  Balliol  College,  Oxford. 
The  Newdigate  prize  for  English  verse  was  won  by  him  in  1843 — ^ 
the  subject  of  his  poem  being  Cromwell.  His  first  volume  of 
poems  was  published  in  1848.  In  the  year  1851  he  was  appointed 
one  of  H.M.  Inspectors  of  Schools;  and  he  held  that  oftice  up  to  the 
year  1885.  In  1857  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Poetry  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford.  In  1868  appeared  a  new  volume  with  the  simple 
title  of  Wew  Poems;  and,  since  then,  he  has  produced  a  large 
number  of  books,  mostly  in  prose.  He  is  no  less  famous  as  a 
critic  than  as  a  poet  ;  and  his  prose  is  singularly  beautiful  and 
musical. 

11.  Arnold's  Style. — The  chief  qualities  of  his  verse  are  clear- 
ness, simplicity,  strong  directness,  noble  and  musical  rhythm,  and  a 
certain  intense  calm.  His  lines  on  Morality  give  a  good  idea  of  his 
style  : — • 

"  We  cannot  kindle  when  we  will 

The  fire  that  in  the  heart  resides : 

The  spirit  bloweth  and  is  still 

In  mystery  our  soul  abides : 

But  tasks  in  hours  of  insight  willed 
Can  be  through  hours  of  gloom  fulfilled. 

'*  With  aching  hands  and  bleeding  feet 
We  dig  and  heap,  lay  stone  on  stone ; 
We  bear  the  burden  and  the  heat 
Of  the  long  day,  and  wish  'twere  done. 

Not  till  the  hours  of  light  return, 

All  we  have  built  do  we  discern." 

His  finest  poem  in  blank  verse  is  his  Sohrab  and  Rustum — a  tale 


438  HISTORY   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATUEE. 

of  the  Tartar  wastes.  One  of  his  noblest  poems,  called  Rugby 
Chapel,  describes  the  strong  and  elevated  character  of  his  father, 
the  Head-master  of  Eugby. — His  prose  is  remarkable  for  its  lucidity, 
its  pleasant  and  almost  conversational  rhythm,  and  its  perfection  of 
language. 


12.  "William  Morris,  a  great  narrative  poet,  was  born  near  London 
in  the  year  1834.  He  was  educated  at  Marlborough  and  at  Exeter 
College,  Oxford.  In  1858  appeared  his  first  volume  of  poems.  In 
1863  he  began  a  business  for  the  production  of  artistic  wall-paper, 
stained  glass,  and  furniture  ;  he  has  a  shop  for  the  sale  of  these 
works  of  art  in  Oxford  Street,  London  ;  and  he  devotes  most  of  his 
time  to  drawing  and  designing  for  artistic  manufacturers.  His  first 
poem,  The  Life  and  Death  of  Jason,  appeared  in  1867;  and  his 
magnificent  series  of  narrative  poems — The  Earthly  Paradise — ■ 
was  published  in  the  years  from  1868  and  1870.  '  The  Earthly 
Paradise '  consists  of  twenty-four  tales  in  verse,  set  in  a  framework 
much  like  that  of  Chaucer's  '  Canterbury  Tales.'  The  poetic  power 
in  these  tales  is  second  only  to  that  of  Chaucer  ;  and  Morris  has  al- 
ways acknowledged  himself  to  be  a  pu23il  of  Chaucer's — 

''Thou,  my  Master  still, 
Whatever  feet  have  climbed  Parnassus'  hill." 

Mr  Morris  has  also  translated  the  iEneid  of  "Virgil,  and  several 
works  from  the  Icelandic. 

13.  Morris's  Style. — Clearness,  strength,  music,  picturesqueness, 
and  easy  flow,  are  the  chief  characteristics  of  Morris's  style.  Of  the 
month  of  April  he  says  : — 

"  0  fair  midspring,  besung  so  oft  and  oft, 
How  can  I  praise  thy  loveliness  enow? 
Thy  sun  that  burns  not,  and  thy  breezes  soft 
That  o'er  the  blossoms  of  the  orchard  blow, 
The  thousand  things  that    neath  the  young  leaves  grow 
The  hopes  and  chances  of  the  growing  year. 
Winter  forgotten  long,  and  summer  near." 

His  pictorial  power — the  power  of  bringing  a  person  or  a  scene  fully 
and  adequately  before  one's  eyes  by  the  aid  of  words  alone — is  as 
great  as  that  of  Chaucer.  The  following  is  his  picture  of  Edward 
III.  in  middle  age  : — 

"  Broad-browed  he  was,  hook-nosed,  with  wide  grey  eyes 
No  longer  eager  for  the  coming  prize, 


SECOND   HALF   OF   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  439 

But  keen  and  steadfast :   many  an  ageing  line, 

Half-hidden  by  his  sweeping  beard  and  hne, 

Ploughed  his  thin  cheeks  ;   his  hair  was  more  than  grey, 

And  like  to  one  he  seemed  whose  better  day 

Is  over  to  himself,  though  foolish  fame 

Shouts  louder  year  by  year  his  empty  name. 

P^narmed  he  was,  nor  clad  upon  that  morn 

Much  like  a  king :   an  ivory  hunting-horn 

Was  slung  about  him,  rich  with  gems  and  gold, 

And  a  great  white  ger-falcon  did  he  hold 

Upon  his  fist ;   before  his  feet  there  sat 

A  scrivener  making  notes  of  this  and  that 

As  the  King  bade  him,  and  behind  his  chair 

His  captains  stood  in  armour  rich  and  fair." 

.if  orris's  stores  of  language  are  as  rich  as  Spenser's  ;  and  he  has  much 
the  same  copious  and  musical  flow  of  poetic  words  and  phrases. 


14.  William  Makepeace  Thackeray  (1811-1863),  one  of  the 
most  original  of  English  novelists,  was  born  at  Calcutta  in  the  year 
1811.  The  son  of  a  gentleman  high  in  the  civil  service  of  the  East 
India  Company,  he  was  sent  to  England  to  be  educated,  and  was 
some  years  at  Charterhouse  School,  where  one  of  his  schoolfellows 
was  Alfred  Tennyson.  He  then  went  on  to  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge, which  he  left  without  taking  a  degree.  Painting  was  the 
profession  that  he  at  first  chose  ;  and  he  studied  art  both  in  France 
and  Germany.  At  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  however,  he  discovered 
that  he  was  on  a  false  tack,  gave  up  painting,  and  took  to  literary 
work  as  his  true  field.  He  contributed  many  pleasant  articles  to 
*  Eraser's  Magazine,'  under  the  name  of  Michael  Angelo  Titmarsh ; 
and  one  of  his  most  beautiful  and  most  pathetic  stories.  The  Great 
Hoggarty  Diamond,  was  also  written  under  this  name.  He  did 
not,  however,  take  his  true  place  as  an  English  novelist  of  the  first 
rank  until  the  year  1847,  when  he  published  his  first  serial  novel. 
Vanity  Fair.  Readers  now  began  everywhere  to  class  him  with 
Charles  Dickens,  and  even  above  him.  His  most  beautiful  work  is 
perhaps  The  Newcomes ;  but  the  work  which  exhibits  most  fully 
the  wonderful  power  of  his  art  and  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
spirit  and  the  details  of  our  older  English  life  is  The  History  of 
Henry  Esmond — a  work  written  in  the  style  and  language  of  the 
days  of  Queen  Anne,  and  as  beautiful  as  anything  ever  done  by 
Addison  himself.     He  died  in  the  year  1863. 

15.  Charles  Dickens  (1812-1870),  the  most  popular  wiiter  of 


440  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 

this  century,  was  born  at  Landport,  Portsmouth,  in  the  year  1812. 
His  delicate  constitution  debarred  liim  from  mixing  in  boyish  sports, 
and  very  early  made  him  a  great  reader.  There  was  a  little  garret 
in  his  father's  house  where  a  small  collection  of  books  was  kept ; 
and,  hidden  away  in  this  room,  young  Charles  devoured  such  books 
as  the  '  Vicar  of  Wakefield,'  '  Robinson  Crusoe,'  and  many  other 
famous  English  books.  This  was  in  Chatham.  The  family  next 
removed  to  London,  where  the  father  was  thrown  into  prison  for 
debt.  The  little  boy,  weakly  and  sensitive,  was  now  sent  to  work 
in  a  blacking  manufactory  at  six  shillings  a-week,  his  duty  being  to 
cover  the  blacking-pots  with  paper.  "  No  words  can  express,"  he 
says,  "  the  secret  agony  of  my  soul,  as  I  compared  these  my  everyday 
associates  with  those  of  my  happier  childhood,  and  felt  my  early  hopes 
of  growing  up  to  be  a  learned  and  distinguished  man  crushed  in  my 
breast.  .  .  .  The  misery  it  was  to  my  young  heart  to  believe  that, 
day  by  day,  what  I  had  learned,  and  thought,  and  delighted  in,  and 
raised  my  fancy  and  my  emulation  up  by,  was  passing  away  from 
me,  never  to  be  brought  back  any  more,  cannot  be  written."  When 
his  father's  affairs  took  a  turn  for  the  better,  he  was  sent  to  school ; 
but  it  was  to  a  school  where  "the  boys  trained  white  mice  much 
better  than  the  master  trained  the  boys."  In  fact,  his  true  educa- 
tion consisted  in  his  eager  perusal  of  a  large  number  of  miscellaneous 
books.  Wlien  he  came  to  think  of  what  he  should  do  in  the  M^orld, 
the  profession  of  reporter  took  his  fancy ;  and,  by  the  time  he  was 
nineteen,  he  had  made  himself  the  quickest  and  most  accurate — that 
is,  the  best  reporter  in  the  Gallery  of  the  House  of  Commons.  His 
first  work.  Sketches  by  Boz,  was  published  in  1836.  In  1837  ap- 
peared the  Pickwick  Papers ;  and  this  work  at  once  lifted  Dickens 
into  the  foremost  rank  as  a  popular  writer  of  fiction.  From  this  time 
he  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  writing  novels.  His  Oliver 
Twist  and  David  Copperfield  contain  reminiscences  of  his  own 
life  ;  and  perhaps  the  latter  is  his  most  powerful  work.  "  Like 
many  fond  parents,"  he  wrote,  "I  have  in  my  heart  of  hearts  a 
favourite  child ;  and  his  name  is  David  Copperfield"  He  lived  with 
all  the  strength  of  his  heart  and  soul  in  the  creations  of  his  imagina- 
tion and  fancy  w^hile  he  was  writing  about  them ;  he  says  himself, 
"  No  one  can  ever  believe  this  narrative,  in  the  reading,  more  than  I 
believed  it  in  the  writing;"  and  each  novel,  as  he  wrote  it,  made 
him  older  and  leaner.  Great  knowledge  of  the  lives  of  the  poor,  and 
great  sympathy  with  them,  were  among  his  most  striking  gifts  ;  and 
Sir  Arthur  Helps  goes  so  far  as  to  say,  "  I  doubt  much  whether  there 
has  ever  been  a  writer  of  fiction  who  took  such  a  real  and  living 


SECOND   HALF   OF  NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  44 1 

interest  in  the  world  about  him."     He  died  in  the  year  1870,  and 
was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

16.  Dickens's  Style. — His  style  is  easy,  flowing,  vigorous,  pictur- 
esque, and  humorous  ;  his  power  of  language  is  very  great  ;  and, 
when  he  is  writing  under  the  influence  of  strong  passion,  it  rises 
into  a  pure  and  noble  eloquence.  The  scenery — the  external  cir- 
cumstances of  his  characters,  are  steeped  in  the  same  colours  as  the 
characters  themselves  ;  everything  he  touches  seems  to  be  filled  with 
life  and  to  speak — to  look  happy  or  sorrowful, — to  reflect  the  feelings 
of  the  persons.  His  comic  and  humorous  powers  are  very  great ; 
but  his  tragic  power  is  also  enormous — his  power  of  depicting  the 
fiercest  passions  that  tear  the  human  breast, — avarice,  hate,  fear, 
revenge,  remorse.  The  great  American  statesman,  Daniel  Webster^ 
said  that  Dickens  had  done  more  to  better  the  condition  of  the 
English  poor  than  all  the  statesmen  Great  Britain  had  ever  sent  into 
the  English  Parliament. 


17.  John  Ruskin,  the  greatest  living  master  of  English  prose,  an 
art-critic  and  thinker,  was  born  in  London  in  the  year  1819.  In  his 
father's  house  he  was  accustomed  "  to  no  other  prospect  than  that 
of  the  brick  walls  over  the  way ;  he  had  no  brothers,  nor  sisters,  nor 
companions."  To  his  London  birth  he  ascribes  the  great  charm  that 
the  beauties  of  nature  had  for  him  from  his  boyhood  :  he  felt  the 
contrast  between  town  and  country,  and  saw  what  no  country-bred 
child  could  have  seen  in  sights  that  were  usual  to  him  from  his 
infancy.  He  was  educated  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  and  gained  the 
Newdigate  prize  for  poetry  in  1839.  He  at  first  devoted  himself  to 
painting  ;  but  his  true  and  strongest  genius  lay  in  the  direction  of 
literature.  In  1843  appeared  the  first  volume  of  his  Modern 
Painters,  which  is  perhaps  his  greatest  work  ;  and  the  four  other 
volumes  were  published  between  that  date  and  the  year  1860.  In 
this  work  he  discusses  the  qualities  and  the  merits  of  the  greatest 
painters  of  the  English,  the  Italian,  and  other  schools.  In  1851  he 
produced  a  charming  fairy  tale,  '  The  King  of  the  Golden  Eiver,  or 
the  Black  Brothers.'  He  has  written  on  architecture  also,  on  politi- 
cal economy,  and  on  many  other  social  subjects.  He  is  the  founder 
of  a  society  called  "  The  St  George's  Guild,"  the  purpose  of  which  is 
to  spread  abroad  sound  notions  of  what  true  life  and  true  art  are,  and 
especially  to  make  the  life  of  the  poor  more  endurable  and  better 
worth  living. 

18.  Kuskin's  Style. — A  glowing  eloquence,  a  splendid  and  full* 


ii2  HISTOKY  OF  ENGLISH  LITEKATURE. 

flowing  music,  wealtli  of  phrase,  aptness  of  epithet,  opulence  of 
ideas — all  these  qualities  characterise  the  prose  style  of  Mr  Ruskin. 
His  similes  are  daring,  but  always  true.  Speaking  of  the  countless 
statues  that  fill  the  innumerable  niches  of  the  cathedral  of  Milan,  he 
says  that  "it  is  as  though  a  flight  of  angels  had  alighted  there  and 
been  struck  to  marble."  His  writings  are  full  of  the  wisest  sayings 
put  into  the  most  musical  and  beautiful  language.  Here  are  a 
few  :  — 

''  Every  act,  every  impulse,  of  \irtue  and  vice,  affects  in  any  creature,  face^ 
voice,  nervous  power,  and  vigour  and  harmony  of  invention,  at  once.  Perse- 
verance  in  Tightness  of  human  conduct  renders,  after  a  certain  number  of  gen^ 
«rations,  human  art  possible  ;  every  sin  clouds  it,  be  it  ever  so  little  a  one  ;  and 
persistent  vicious  living  and  following  of  pleasvire  render,  after  a  certain  numbei 
«f  generations,  all  art  impossible." 

"  In  mortals,  there  is  a  care  for  trifles,  which  proceeds  from  love  and  con- 
science, and  is  most  holy  ;  and  a  care  for  trifles,  which  comes  of  idleness  and 
frivolity,  and  is  most  base.  And  so,  also,  there  is  a  gravity  proceeding  from 
dulness  and  mere  incapability  of  enjoyment,  which  is  most  base. " 

His  power  of  painting  in  words  is  incomparably  greater  than  that  of 
any  other  English  author  :  he  almost  infuses  colour  into  his  words 
and  phrases,  so  full  are  they  of  pictorial  power.  It  would  be  impos- 
eible  to  give  any  adequate  idea  of  this  power  here  ;  but  a  few  lines 
may  suffice  for  the  present : — 

*'  The  noonday  sun  came  slanting  down  the  rocky  slopes  of  La  Riccia,  and 
its  masses  of  enlarged  and  tall  foliage,  whose  autumnal  tints  were  mixed  with 
the  wet  verdure  of  a  thousand  evergreens,  were  penetrated  with  it  as  with  rain. 
i  cannot  call  it  colour  ;  it  was  conflagration.  Purple,  and  crimson,  and  scarlet, 
like  the  curtains  of  God's  tabernacle,  the  rejoicing  trees  sank  into  the  valley  in 
showers  of  light,  every  separate  leaf  quivered  with  buoyant  and  burning  life  ; 
each,  as  it  ttimed  to  reflect  or  to  transmit  the  sunbeam,  first  a  torch  and  then 
an  emerald." 


19.  George  Eliot  (the  literary  name  for  Marian  Evans,  1819- 
1880),  one  of  our  greatest  writers,  was  born  in  Warwickshire  in  the 
year  1819.  She  was  well  and  carefully  educated  ;  and  her  own 
serious  and  studious  character  made  her  a  careful  thinker  and  a 
most  diligent  reader.  For  some  time  the  famous  Herbert  Spencer 
was  her  tutor  ;  and  under  his  care  her  mind  developed  with  surpris- 
ing rapidity.  She  taught  herself  German,  French,  Italian — studied 
the  best  works  in  the  literature  of  these  languages  ;  and  she  was  also 
fairly  mistress  of  Greek  and  Latin.  Besides  all  these,  she  was  an 
accomplished  musician. — She  was  for  some  time  assistant-editor  of 
the  '  Westminster  Eeview.'     The  first  of  her  works  which  called  the 


SECOND  HALF  OF  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  443 

ttttention  of  the  public  to  her  astonishing  skill  and  power  as  a 
novelist  was  her  Scenes  of  Clerical  Life.  Her  most  popular 
novel,  Adam  Bede,  appeared  in  1859  ;  Romola  in  1863  ;  and 
Middlemarch  in  1872.  She  has  also  written  a  good  deal  of  poetry, 
among  other  volumes  that  entitled  The  Legend  of  Jubal,  and 
other  Poems.  One  of  her  best  poems  is  The  Spanish  Gypsy. 
She  died  in  the  year  1880. 

20.  George  Eliot's  Style. — Her  style  is  everywhere  pure  and 
strong,  of  the  best  and  most  vigorous  English,  not  only  broad  in  its 
power,  but  often  intense  in  its  description  of  character  and  situation, 
and  always  singularly  adequate  to  the  thought.  Probably  no  novelist 
knew  the  English  character — especially  in  the  Midlands — so  well 
as  she,  or  could  analyse  it  with  so  much  subtlety  and  truth.  She 
is  entirely  mistress  of  the  country  dialects.  In  humour,  pathos, 
knowledge  of  character,  power  of  putting  a  portrait  firmly  upon  the 
canvas,  no  writer  surpasses  her,  and  few  come  near  her.  Her  power 
is  sometimes  almost  Shakespearian.  Like  Shakespeare,  she  gives  us 
a  large  number  of  wise  sayings,  expressed  in  the  pithiest  language. 
The  following  are  a  lew  : — 

"  It  is  never  too  late  to  be  what  you  might  have  been." 

"  It  is  easy  finding  reasons  why  other  people  should  be  patient. " 

"  Genius,  at  first,  is  little  more  than  a  great  capacity  for  receiving  discipline." 

"  Things  are  not  so  ill  with  you  and  me  as  they  might  have  been,  half  owing 
to  the  number  who  lived  faithfully  a  hidden  life,  and  rest  in  unvisited  tombs." 

"  Nature  never  makes  men  who  are  at  once  energetically  sympathetic  and 
Baintitely  calculating." 

"  To  the  far  woods  he  wandered,  listening, 
And  heard  the  birds  their  little  stories  sing 
In  notes  whose  rise  and  fall  seem  melted  speech — 
Melted  with  tears,  smiles,  glances — that  can  reach 
More  quickly  through  our  frame's  deep-winding  night, 
And  without  thought  raise  thought's  best  fruit,  delight." 


TiLBLES  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATUEE. 


Writers. 


{Author  unknovm.) 


CAEDMON. 
A  secular  monk  of 
Whitby. 
Died  about  680. 


BAEDA. 

672-735- 

"The  Venerable 
Bede,"  a  monk  of  Jar- 
row-on-Tyne. 

ALFRED   THE 
GREAT. 

849-901. 

King  ;  translator ; 
prose-writer. 


Compiled  by  monks 
in  various  monaster- 
ies. 


ASSER. 
Bishop     of     Sher- 
Dorne.     Died  910. 


{Author  unknown.) 


LAYAMON. 
1150-1210. 

A  priest  of  Emley- 
on-Sevem. 


Works. 


Beowulf  (brought  over  by 
Saxons  and  Angles  from  the 
Continent). 

Poems  on  the  Creation  and 
other  subjects  taken  from 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

An  Ecclesiastical  History  in 
Latin.  A  translation  of  St 
John's  Gospel  into  English 
(lost). 


Translated  into  the  English 
of  Wessex,  Bede's  Ecclesi- 
astical History  and  other 
Latin  works.  Is  said  to 
have  begun  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicle. 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  875- 
1154. 


Life  of  King  Alfred. 


A  poem  entitled  The  Grave. 


The  Brut  (1205),  a  poem  on 
Brutus,  the  supposed  first 
settler  in  Britain. 


contemporart 

Events. 


Edwin  (of  Deii-a), 
King  of  the 
Angles,  baptis- 
ed 627. 


First   landing   of 
the  Danes,  787, 


The  University 
of  Oxford  is 
said  to  have 
been  founded 
in  this  reign. 


John  ascended 
the  throne  in 
1199. 


) 


Ckn- 

TURIK. 

500 


600 


700 


800 


900 


1000 


1100 


446 


TABLES   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


Writers. 


ORM  OR  ORMIN. 


A  canon  of  the  Order 
of  St  Augustine. 


ROBERT  OF 
GLOUCESTER. 


1255-1307. 


ROBERT  OF 

BRUNNE. 

1272-1340. 

(Robert  Manning  of 
Brun.) 


SIR   JOHN 
MANDEVILLE. 

130O-1372. 

Physician  ;    travel- 
ler; prose-writer. 


JOHN  BARBOUR. 
1316-1396. 

Archdeacon  of 
Aberdeen. 

JOHN  WYCLIF. 
1324-1384. 

Vicar  of  Lutter- 
worth, in  Leicester- 
shire. 

JOHN   GOWER. 
1325-1408. 

A  country  gentle- 
man of  Kent ;  prob- 
ably also  a  lawyer. 

WILLIAM 
LANGLANDE. 

1332-1400. 

Bom  in  Shropshire. 


Works. 


The  Ormulum  (1154),  a  set  of 
religious  services  in  metre. 


Chronicle    of    England 

rhyme  (1297). 


Chronicle    of    England    in 

rhyme ;     Handling    Sinne 
(1303). 


The  Voyaige  and  Travaile. 

Travels  to  Jerusalem,  India, 
and  other  countries,  written 
in  Latin,  French,  and  Eng- 
lish (1356).  The  first  writer 
"  in  formed  English." 


The  Bruce  (1377),  a  poem 
written  in  the  Northern  Eng- 
lish or  "Scottish"  dialect. 


Translation  of  the  Bible  from 
the  Latin  version  ;  and  many 
tracts  and  pamphlets  on 
Church  reform. 


"Vox  Clamantis,  Confessio 
Amantis,  Speculum  Medi- 
tantis  (1393);  and  poems 
in  French  and  Latin. 


Vision  concerning  Piers  the 
Plowman  —  three  editions 
(1362-78). 


Contemporary 
Events. 


Magna  Charta, 

1215. 


Henry  III.  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1216. 

University  of 
Cambridge 
founded,  1231. 

Edward  I.  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1272. 

Conquest  of 
Wales,  1284. 

Edward  II.  as- 
cends  the 
throne,  1307. 


Battle    of    Ban- 
nockburn,  1314. 


Edward  IIL 
ascends  the 
throne,  1327. 


Hundred  Tears' 
War  begins, 
1338. 


Battle  of  Crecy, 
1346.    . 


The  Black 
Death. 


1349, 

1361. 
1369. 


Battle  of  Poitiers, 
1356. 


First  law-plead- 
ings in  English, 
1362. 


Cen- 
turies. 


1200 


1300 


1350 


TABLES   OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


447 


Writers. 


GEOFFREY 
CHAUCER. 

1340-1400. 

Poet;  courtier; 
soldier;  diplomatist; 
Comptroller  of  the 
Customs :  Clerk  of  the 
King's  Works;  M.P. 


JAMES  I.    OF 
SCOTLAND. 

1394-1437. 

Prisoner  in  Eng- 
land, and  educated 
there,   in  1405-24. 


WILLIAM 
C  A  X  T  0  N. 

1422-1492. 

Mercer  ;  printer  ; 
translator;  prose- 
writer. 


WILLIAM 
DUNBAR. 

1450-1530- 

Franciscan  or  Grey 
Friar ;  Secretary  to 
a  Scotch  embassy  to 
France. 


GAWAIN 
DOUGLAS. 

1474-1522. 

Bishop  of  Dunkeld, 
in  Perthshire. 


WILLIAM 
TYNDALE. 

1484-1536. 

Staient  of  theology; 
translator.  Burnt  at 
Antwerp  for  heresy. 


Works. 


The  Canterbury  Tales  (1384- 
98),  of  which  the  best  is  the 
Knightes  Tale.  Dryden 
called  him  "a  perpetual 
fountain  of  good  sense." 


The  King's  Quair  {=Book), 
a  poem  in  the  style  of  Chau- 
cer. 


The  Game  and  Playe  of  the 

Chesse  (U74)  —  the  first 
book  printed  in  England ; 
Lives  of  the  Fathers,  "fin- 
ished on  the  last  day  of 
his  life  ; "  and  many  other 
works. 


The  Golden  Terge  (1501) ;  the 
Dance  of  the  Seven  Deadly 
Sins  (1507)  ;  and  other 
poems.  He  has  been  called 
"the  Chaucer  of  Scotland." 


Palace  of  Honour  (1501) ; 
tran  si  ation  of  Virgil' s  iEneid 
(1513) — the  first  translation 
of  any  Latin  author  into 
verse.  Douglas  wrote  in 
Northern  English. 


N"ew  Testament  translated 
(1525-34);  the  Five  Books 
of  Moses  translated  (1530). 
This  translation  is  the  basis 
of  the  Authorised  Version. 


Contemporary 

Events. 


Richard  II.  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1377. 


Wat  Tyler's  insur- 
rection, 1381. 


Henry    IV.    as 
cend  s        the, 
throne,  1399. 


Henry  V.  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1415. 

Battle  of  Agin- 
court,  1415. 

Henry  VI.  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1422. 

i 

Invention  pf 
Printing,  1438- 

45. 


Jack    Cade's    in- 
surrection, 1450. 


End  of  the  Hun- 
dred Years'  War, 
1453. 


Wars     of     the 
Roses,  1455-86. 


Edward  FV.  as- 
cends  the 
throne,  1461. 


Edward  V. 
1483. 


king, 


Cen- 

TURIBS. 


1400 


1450 


448 


TABLES    OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


Writers. 


SIR  THOMAS 
MORE. 

1480-1535. 

Lord  High  Chancel- 
lor ;  writer  on  social 
topics ;  historian. 

SIR  DAVID 
LYNDESAY. 

1490- 1556. 

Tutor  of  Prince 
James  of  Scotland 
(James  V.)  ;  "  Lord 
Lyon  King-at-Arms ; " 
poet. 

ROGER  ASCHAM. 
1515-1568. 

Lecturer  on  Greek 
at  Cambridge  ;  tutor 
to  Edward  VI.,  Queon 
Elizabeth,  and  Lady 
Jane  Grey. 

JOHN  FOXE. 
1517-1587. 

An  English  clergy- 
man. Corrector  for 
the  press  at  Basle  ; 
Prebendary  of  Salis- 
bury Cathedral; 
prose-writer. 

EDMUND 
SPENSER. 

1552-1599. 

Secretary  to  Viceroy 
of  Ireland ;  political 
writer;  poet. 

SIR  WALTER 
.^     RALEIGH. 

1552-1618. 

Courtier  ;  states- 
man ;  sailor;  colon- 
iser ;  historian. 

RICHARD 
HOOKER. 

1553-1600. 

English  clergyman ; 
Master  of  the  Temple ; 
Rector  of  Boscombe, 
in  the  dioc«s«  of  Salis- 
biuy. 


Works, 


History  of  King  Edward  V., 
and  of  his  brother,  and  of 
Richard  III.  (1513);  Utopia 
(  =  "The  Land  of  No- 
where "),  written  in  Latin  ; 
and  other  prose  works. 

Lyndesay'sDream(1528);  The 
Complaint  (1529) ;  A  Satire 
of  the  Three  Estates  (1535) 
— a  "  morality -play. " 


Toxophilns  (1544),  a  treatise 
on  shooting  with  the  bow ; 
The  Scholemastre  (1570). 
"  Ascham  is  plain  and  strong 
in  his  style,  but  without 
grace  or  wai'mth." 


The  Book  of  Martyrs  (1563), 
an  account  of  the  chief  Pro- 
testant martyrs- 


Shepheard's  Calendar  (1579) ; 
Faerie  Queene,  in  six  books 
(1590-96). 


History  of  the  World  (1614), 
written  during  the  author's 
imprisonment  in  the  Tower 
of  London. 


Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity 
(1594).  This  book  is  an  elo- 
quent defence  of  the  Church 
of  England.  The  writer, 
from  his  excellent  judgment, 
is  generally  called  "the 
judicious  Hooker." 


Contemporary 

Events. 


Richard  III.  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1483. 


Battle     of    Bob- 
worth,  1485. 


Henry  VII.  as- 
cetids  the 
throne,  1485. 


Greek  began  to 
be  taught  in 
England  about 
1497. 


Henry  VIII.  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1509. 

Battle  of  Flod- 
den,  1513. 

Wolsey  Cardinal 
and  Lord  High 
Chancellor, 
1515. 

Sir  Thomas  More 
first     layman 
who   was    Lord; 
High     Chancel- 
lor, 1529. 

Reformation  in 
England  begins 
about  1534. 

Edward  VI.  as- 
cends  the 
throne,  1547. 

Mary  Tudor 
ascends  the 
throne,  1553. 


Cranmer 
1556. 


burnt, 


Elizabeth  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1558. 


TABLES    OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


449 


Writers. 


SIR  PHILIP 
SIDNEY. 

1554-1586. 

Courtier ;    general 
romance-writer. 


FRANCIS  BACON. 
1561-1626. 

Viscount  St  Al- 
bans ;  Lord  High 
Chancellor  of  Eng- 
land ;  lawyer ;  philo- 
sopher; essayist. 


WILLIAM 
SHAKESPEARE. 

1564-1616. 

Actor ;  owner  of 
theatre  ;  play- writer ; 
poet.  Bom  and  died 
at  Stratford-on-AvoQ. 


BEN   JONSON. 
1574-1637. 

Dramatist ;      poet ; 
prose-writer. 


WILLIAM 

DRUMMOND  ("of 

Hawthornden  "). 

I585-I649. 

Scottish      poet  ; 
friend  of  Ben  Jonson. 


THOMAS  HOBBES. 
1588-1679. 

Philosopher;  prose- 


writer 
Homer. 


translator  of 


Works. 


Arcadia,  a  romance  (1580). 
Defence  of  Poesie,  pub- 
lished after  his  death  (in 
1595).     Sonnets. 


Essays  (^597);  Advancement 
of  Learning  (1605);  Novum 
Organnm  (1620) ;  and  other 
works  on  methods  of  inquiry 
into  nature. 


Thirty  -  seven  plays.  His 
greatest  tragedies  are  Ham- 
let, Lear,  and  Othello.  His 
best  comedies  are  Midsum- 
mer Night's  Dreavi,  The 
Merchant  of  Venice,  and  As 
You  Like  It.  His  best  his- 
torical plays  are  Juliics 
Ccesar  and  Richard  ILL 
Many  minor  poems — chiefly 
sonnets.  He  wrote  no  prose. 


Tragedies  and  comedies.  Best 

plays  :    Volpone  or  the  Fox; 
Every  Man  in  his  Humour. 


Sonnets  and  poems. 


The  Leviathan  (1651),  a 
work  on  politics  and  moral 
philosophy. 


Contemporary 

Events 


De- 

CADKflb 


Hawkins  begins 
slave  trade  in 
1562. 


Rizzio  murdered, 
1566. 


Marlowe,  Dek- 
ker,  Chapman, 
Beaumont  and 
Fletcher,  Ford, 
Webster,  Ben 
Jonson,  and 
other  drama- 
tists, were  con-l 
temporaries  of 
Shakspeare. 


Drake  sails  round 
the  world,  1577. 

Execution  of 
Mary  Queen  of 
Scots,  1587. 


Raleigh    in    Vir- 
ginia, 1584. 

Babington's  Plot, 
1586. 

Spanish  Armada, 
1588. 


Battle    of    Ivry, 
1590. 


1560 


1570 


1580 


1590 


450 


TABLES   OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


Writers. 


SIR   THOMAS 
BROWNE. 

1605- 1682. 

Physician   at   Nor- 
wich. 


JOHN  MILTON. 
1608- 1674. 

Student ;  political 
writer ;  poet ;  For- 
eign (or  "  Latin  ") 
Secretary  to  Crom- 
well. Became  blind 
from  over-work  in 
1654. 


SAMUEL  BUTLER. 
1612-1680. 

Literary  man  ; 
secretary  to  the  Earl 
of  Carbery. 


JEREMY  TAYLOR. 
1613-1667. 

English  clergyman ; 
Bishop  of  Down  and 
Connor  in  Ireland. 


JOHN  BUNYAN. 
1628-1688. 

Tinker  and  travel- 
ling preacher. 


JOHN  DRYDEN. 
1631-1700. 

Poet  -  Laureate 
and  Historiographer- 
Royal  ;  playwright ; 
poet;  prose- writer. 


Works. 


Religio  Medici  (  =  '' The  Re- 
ligion of  a  Physician"); 
Urn  -  Burial ;  and  other 
prose  works. 


Minor  Poems ;  Paradise 
Lost;  Paradise  Regained; 
Samson  Agonistes.  Many 
prose  works,  the  best  being 
Areopagitica,  a  speech  for 
the  Liberty  of  Unlicensed 
Printing. 


Hudibras,  a  mock  -  heroic 
poem,  written  to  ridicule 
the  Puritan  and  Parliament- 
arian party. 


Holy  Living  and  Holy  Dy- 
ing (1649) ;  and  a  number 
of  other  religious  books. 


The  Pilgrim's  Progress 
(1678) ;  the  Holy  War ;  and 
other  religious  works. 


Annus  Mirabilis  (  =  "The 
Wonderful  Year,"  1665-66, 
on  the  Plague  and  the  Fire 
of  London) ;  Absalom  and 
Achitophel  (1681),  a  poem 
on  political  parties ;  Hind 
and  Panther  (1687),  a  re- 
ligious poem.  He  also 
wrote  many  plays,  some 
odes,  and  a  translation  of 
Virgil's  .ffineid.  His  prose 
consists  chiefly  of  prefaces 
and  introductions  to  his 
poemB. 


Contemporary 
Events. 


Australia  dis- 
covered, 1601. 

James  L  as- 
cends the 
throne  in  1603. 


Hampton  Court 
Conference  for 
translation  of 
Bible,  1604-11. 


Gunpowder  Plot, 
1605. 


Execution     of 
Raleigh,  1618. 


Charles  I.  as- 
cends the 
throne  in  1625. 

Petition  of  Right, 
1628. 


No  Parliament 
from  1629-40. 


Scottish  National 
Covenant,  1638. 


Long  Parliament, 
1640-53. 


Marston  Moor, 

1644. 

Execution     of 
Charles  L,  1649. 


Db- 

CADE3. 

1600 


1610 


1620 


1630 


1640 


TABLES   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


451 


Writers. 


JOHN   LOCKE. 
1632-1704. 

Diplomatist;  Secre- 
tary to  the  Board  of 
Trade ;  pliilosopher ; 
prose-writer. 


DANIEL  DEFOE. 
1661-1731. 

Literary  man  ; 
pamphleteer;  journal- 
ist ;  member  of  Com- 
mission on  Union 
with  Scotland. 


JONATHAN 
SWIFT. 

1667-1745. 

_  English  clergyman ; 
literary  man  ;  satir- 
ist; prose -writer; 
poet ;  Dean  of  St  Pat- 
rick's, in  Dublin. 


SIR  RICHARD 
STEELE. 

1671-1729. 

Soldier;  literary 
man  ;  courtier ;  jour- 
nalist;  M.P. 


JOSEPH  ADDISON. 
1672-1719. 

Essayist;  poet;  Sec- 
retar J'  of  State  for  the 
Home  Department. 


ALEXANDER 
POPE. 

1688-1744. 

troei. 


Works. 


Essay  concerning  the  Hu- 
man Understanding  (1690) ; 
Thoughts  on  Education ; 
and  other  prose  works. 


The  True-born  Englishman 
(1701) ;  Robinson  Crusoe 
(1719) ;  Journal  of  the 
Plague  (1722)  ;  and  more 
than  a  hundred  books  in 
all. 


Battle  of  the  Books ;  Tale  of 
a  Tub  (1704),  an  allegory  on 
the  Churches  of  Rome,  Eng- 
land, and  Scotland  ;  Gulli- 
ver's Travels  (1726)  ;  a 
few  poems  ;  and  a  number 
of  very  vigorous  political 
pamphlets. 


Steele  founded  the  'Tatler,' 
'Spectator,'  'Guardian,'  and 
other  small  journals.  He 
also  wrote  some  plays. 


Essays  in  the  'Tatler,' 
'Spectator/  and  'Guardian.' 
Cato,  a  Tragedy  (1713). 
Several  Poems  and  Hymns. 


Essay  on  Criticism  (1711) ; 
Rape  of  the  Lock  (1714) ; 
Translation  of  Homer's 
Iliad  and  Odyssey,  finished 
in  1726;  Dunciad  (1729); 
Essay  on  Man  (1739).  A 
few  prose  Essays^  and  a 
volume  of  Letters. 


Contemporary 

EVENT.S. 

Db- 

CADES. 

The     Common- 
wealth, 1649-60. 

1650 

Cromwell      Lord 
Protector,  1653- 
58. 

Restoration,  1660. 

1660 

First    standing 
army,  1661. 

First    newspaper 
in      England, 
1663. 

Plague    of    Lon- 
don, 1665. 

Fire   of  London, 
1666. 

Charles    11.   pen- 
sioned by  Louis 
XIV.  of  France, 
1674. 

1670 

The  Habeas  Cor- 
pus Act,  167§. 

James    IL    as- 
cends      the 
throne  in  1685. 

1680 

Revolution  of 

1688. 

William  TIL  and 
Mary  IL  ascend 
the  throne,  1689. 

Battle    of    the 
Boyne,  1690. 

1690 

452 


TABLES   OF   ENGCISH   LITERATURE. 


Writers. 


JAMES  THOMSON. 
1700-1748. 

Poet. 


HENRY  FIELDING. 

1707-1754- 

Police  -  magistrate ; 
journalist ;  novelist. 


DR    SAMUEL 
JOHNSON. 

1709-1784. 

Schoolmaster  ;  lit- 
erary man;  essayist; 
poet;  dictionary- 
maker. 


DAVID   HUME. 
1711-1776. 

Librarian ;  Secret- 
ary to  the  French  Em- 
bassy ;  philosopher ; 
literary  man. 

THOMAS  GRAY. 
1716-1771. 

Student;  poet;  let- 
ter-writer ;  Professor 
of  Modern  History  in 
the  University  of 
Cambridge. 

TOBIAS   GEORGE 
SMOLLETT. 

1721-1771. 

Doctor ;  pamphlet- 
eer ;  literary  hack ; 
novelist. 


OLIVER 
GOLDSMITH. 
1728-1774. 

Literary  man;  play- 
writer ;  poet. 


Works. 


The  Seasons ;  a  poem  in  blank 
verse  (1730)  :  The  Castle  of 
Indolence ;  a  mock  -  heroic 
poem  in  the  Spenserian  stan- 
za (1748). 


Joseph  Andrews  (1742); 
Amelia  (1751).  He  was 
"the  first  great  English 
novelist. " 


London  (1738) ;  The  Vanity 
of  Human  Wishes  (1749)  ; 
Dictionary  of  the  English 
Language  (1755) ;  Rasse- 
las  (1759) ;  Lives  of  the 
Poets  (1781).  He  also 
AVTote  The  Idler,  The  Ram- 
bler, and  a  play  called  Irene. 


History  of  England  (1754- 
1762) ;  and  a  number  of 
philosophical  Essays.  His 
prose  is  singularly  clear, 
easy,  and  pleasant. 


Odes;  Elegy  "Written  in  a 
Country  Churchyard  (1750) 
— one  of  the  most  perfect 
poems  in  our  language.  He 
was  a  great  stylist,  and  an 
extremely  careful  workman. 


Roderick  Random  (1748) ; 
Humphrey  Clinker  (1771). 
He  also  continued  Hume's 
History  of  England.  He 
published  also  some  Plays 
and  Poertis. 


The  Traveller  (1764) ;  The 
Vicar  of  Wakefield  (1766) ; 
The  Deserted  Village  (1770); 
She  Stoops  to  Conquer  — a 
Play  (1773)  ;  and  a  large 
number  of  books,  pam- 
phlets, and  compilations. 


Contemporary 
Events. 


Censorship  of  the 
Press  abolished, 
1695. 

Queen  Anne 
ascends  the 
throne  in  1702. 

Battle  of  Blen- 
heim, 1704. 

Gibraltar    taken, 
1704. 


Union  of  Eng- 
land and  Scot- 
land, 1707. 


De- 

CACC3. 


1700 


George  I.  ascends 
the  throne  in 
1714. 


Rebellion  itf  Scot- 
land in  1715. 


1710 


South-Sea  BubbU 
bursts,  1720 


1720 


George  IL  as- 
cends the 
throne,  1727. 


TABLES   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


453 


Writers. 


ADAM  SMITH. 
1723-1790. 

Professor      in     the 
University  of  Glasgow. 


EDMUND  BURKE. 
1730-1797. 
M.P. ;  statesman  ; 
"  the  first  man  in  the 
House  of  Commons  ; " 
orator  ;  writer  on  po- 
litical philosophy. 


WILLIAM 
C  0  W  P  E  R. 

1731-1800. 

Commissioner  in 
Bankruptcy;  Clerk  of 
the  Journals  of  the 
House  of  Lords  ;  poet. 


EDWARD  GIBBON. 

1737-1794. 
Hictoriau ;  M.P. 


ROBERT  BURNS. 
1759-1796. 

Farm  -  labourer ; 
ploughman  ;  farmer ; 
eicise-offic€r ;  lyrical 
poet. 


Works. 


Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments 
(1759) ;  Inquiry  into  the 
Nature  and  Causes  of  the 
Wealth  of  Nations  (1776). 
He  was  the  founder  of  the 
science  of  political  economy. 


Essay  on  the  Suhlime  and 
Beautiful  (1757) ;  Reflec- 
tions on  the  Revolution  of 
France  (1790);  Letters  on 
a  Regicide  Peace  (1797) ; 
and  many  other  works. 
"The  greatest  philosopher 
in  practice  the  world  ever 
saw." 


Table  Talk  (1782) ;  John  Gil- 
pin (1785) ;  A  Translation 
of  Homer  (1791) ;  and  many 
other  Poems.  His  Letters, 
like  Gray's,  are  among  the 
best  in  the  language. 


Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire  (1776-87). 
"Heavily  laden  style  and 
monotonous  balance  of 
every  sentence." 


Poems  and  Songs  (1786-96). 
His  prose  consists  chiefly  of 
Letters.  "  His  pictures  of 
social  life,  of  quaint  humour, 
come  up  to  nature ;  and 
they  cannot  go  beyond  it." 


Contemporary 
Events. 


De- 
cades. 


1730 


Rebellion  in  Scot- 
land, 1745,  com- 
monly  called 
"The  'Forty- 
five." 


Clive    in    India, 
1750-60. 

Earthquake       at 
Lisbon,  1755. 

Black     Hole     of 
CaleuttA,  176e. 


1740 


1750 


454 


TABLES    OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


Writers. 


Works. 


WILLIAM 
WORDSWORTH. 

1770- 1850. 

Distributor  of 
Stamps  for  the  coun- 
ty of  Westmoreland ; 
poet ;  poet-laureate. 


SIR  WALTER 
SCOTT. 

1771-1832. 

Olerk  to  the  Court 
of  Session  in  Edin- 
burgh ;  Scottish  bar- 
rister; poet;  novelist. 


SAMUEL  TAYLOR 
COLERIDGE. 

1772-1834. 

Private  soldier; 
journalist  ;  literary 
man ;  philosopher ; 
poet. 

ROBERT 
SOUTHEY. 

1774-1843. 

Literary  man ; 
Quarterly  Reviewer ; 
historian ;  poet  -  lau- 
reate. 


CHARLES  LAMB. 

1775-1834. 

Clerk  in  the  East 
India  House;  poet; 
prose-writer. 


WALTER  SAVAGE 
LANDOR. 

1775-1864. 

Poet;  prose-writer. 


Lyrical  Ballads  (with  Cole- 
ridge, 1798) ;  The  Excursion 
(1814)  ;  Yarrow  Revisited 
(1835),  and  many  other 
poems.  The  Prelude  was 
published  after  his  death. 
His  prose,  which  is  very 
good,  consists  chiefly  of 
Prefaces  and  Introductions. 


Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel 
(1805) ;  Marmion  (1S08)  ; 
Lady  of  the  Lake  (1810); 
Waverley — the  first  of  the 
"Waverley  Novels" — was 
published  in  1814.  The 
"  Homer  of  Scotland."  His 
prose  is  bright  and  fluent, 
but  very  inaccurate. 

The  Ancient  Mariner  (1798) ; 
Christabel  (1816);  The 
Friend — a  Collection  of  Es- 
says (1812) ;  Aids  to  Reflec- 
tion (1825).  His  prose  is 
\ery  full  both  of  thought 
and  emotion. 


Joan  of  Arc  (1796) ;  Thalaba 
the  Destroyer  (1801)  ;  The 
Curse  of  Kehama  (1810) ;  A 
History  of  Brazil;  The 
Doctor — a  Collection  of  Es- 
says ;  Life  of  Nelson.  He 
wrote  more  than  a  hundred 
volumes.  He  was  "  the  most 
ambitious  and  the  most  vol- 
uminous author  of  his  age." 

Poems  (1797);  Tales  from 
Shakespeare  (1806);  The 
Essays  of  Elia  (1823-1833). 
One  of  the  finest  writers  of 
prose  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. 

Gebir  (1798) ;  Count  Julian 
(1812) ;  Imaginary  Conver- 
sations (1824-1846);  Dry 
Sticks  Faggoted  (1858).  He 
wrote  books  for  more  than 
sixty  years.  His  style  is 
full  of  vigour  and  sustained 
eloquence. 


Contemporary 
Events. 


George  III.  as- 
cends the 
throne  in  1760. 


Napoleon  and 
Wellington 
born,  1769. 


Warren  Hastings 
in   India,    1772- 

85. 


De- 
cades. 


1760 


1770 


American   De- 
claration    of 
Independence, 
1776. 


Alliance  of 
France  and 
America,  1778. 


TABLES   OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


453 


Writers. 


THOMAS 
CAMPBELL. 

1777-1844. 

Poet;  literary  man; 
oditor. 


HENRY  HALL  AM. 
1778-1859. 

Historian. 


THOMAS  MOORE. 
1779-1852. 

Poet;  prose-writer. 


THOMAS 
DE   QUINCEY. 

1785-.1859. 

Essayist. 


LORD   BYRON 

(George  Gordon). 

1788-1824. 
Peer ;  poet ;  volun- 
teer to  Greece. 


Works. 


The  Pleasures  of  Hope  (1799); 
Poems  (1803);  Gertrude  of 
Wyoming,  Battle  of  the 
Baltic,  Hohenlinden,  etc. 
(1809).  He  also  wrote  some 
Historical  Works. 


View  of  Europe  during  the 
Middle  Ages  (1818);  Con- 
stitutional History  of  Eng- 
land (182!7) ;  Introduction 
to  the  Literature  of  Europe 
(1839). 


Odes  and  Epistles  (1806) ; 
Lalla  Rookh  (1817) ;  His- 
tory of  Ireland  (1827) ;  Life 
of  Byron  (1830) ;  Irish 
Melodies  (1834) ;  and  many 
prose  works. 


Confessions  of  an  English 
Opium-Eater  (1821).  He 
wrote  also  on  many  subjects 
—philosophy,  poetry,  clas- 
sics, history,  politics.  His 
writings  fill  twenty  volumes. 
He  was  one  of  the  finest 
prose  -  writers  of  the  ]9th 
centuiy. 


Hours  of  Idleness  (1807) ; 
English  Bards  and  Scotch 
Reviewers  (1809)  ;  Childe 
Harold's  Pilgrimage  (1812- 
1818)  ;  Hebrew  Melodies 
(1815)  :  and  many  Plays. 
His  prose,  which  is  full  of 
vigour  and  animal  spirits,  is 
to  be  found  chiefly  in  his 
Letters. 


Contemporary 
Events. 


Encyclopsedia 
Britannica 
founded  in  1778. 


French  Revoln- 
tion  begun  in 
1789. 


Bastille    over- 
thrown, 1789. 


De- 
cades. 


1780 


456 


TABLES   OF   ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


Writers. 


PERCY  BYSSHE 

SHELLEY. 


Poet. 


1792-1822. 


JOHN  KEATS. 
1795-1821. 

Poet. 


THOMAS 
CARLYLE. 

1795-1881. 

Literary  man; 
poet;  translator; 
essayist ;  reviewer ; 
political  writer;  his- 
torian. 


LORD 

MACAULAY 

^Thomas  Babington). 

1800-1859. 

Barrister;  Edin- 
burgh Reviewer; 
M.P. ;  Member  of  the 
Supreme  Council  of 
India;  Cabinet  Minis- 
ter ;  poet ;  essayist ; 
histonan;  peer. 


Works. 


Contemporary 

Events. 


Queen  Mab  (1810) ;  Prome- 
theus Unbound— a  Tragedy 
(1819) ;  Ode  to  the  Skylark, 
The  Cloud  (1820) ;  Adonais 
(1821),  and  many  other 
poems ;  and  several  prose 
works. 


Poems  (1817);  Endymion 
(1818)  ;  Hyperion  (1820). 
"  Had  Keats  lived  to  the 
ordinary  age  of  man,  he 
would  have  been  one  of  the 
greatest  of  all  poets." 


German  Romances— a  set  of 

Translations  (1827) ;  Sartor 
Resartus  —  "  The  Tailor 
Repatched "  (1834) ;  The 
French  Revolution  (1837) ; 
Heroes  and  Hero-Worship 
(1840);  Past  and  Present 
(1843);  Cromwell's  Letters 
and  Speeches  (1845) ;  Life 
of  Frederick  the  Great 
(1858-65).  "With  the  gift 
of  song,  Carlyle  would  have 
been  the  greatest  of  epic 
poets  since  Homer." 


Milton  (in  the  'Edinburgh 
Review,'  1825)  ;  Lays  of 
Ancient  Rome  (1842) ;  His- 
tory of  England — unfinished 
(1849-59).  "His  pictorial 
faculty  is  amazing." 


Cape  of  Good 
Hope    taken, 

1795. 


Bonaparte  In 
Italy,  1796. 

Battle   of  the 

Nile,  1798. 

Union  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ire- 
land, 1801. 

Trafalgar  and 
Nelson,  1805, 


Peninsular  "War, 
1808-14. 


Napoleon's  Inva- 
sion of  Russia ; 
Moscow  burnt, 
1812. 


War  with  United 
States,  1812-14. 

Battle  of  Water- 
loo, 1815. 

George  IV.  as- 
cend s  the 
throne,  1820. 

Greek  War  of 
Freedom,  1822- 
29. 


Byron  in  Greece, 
1823-24, 


Catholic  Emanci- 
pation, 1829. 

William  IV.  as- 
cends  the 
throne,  1830. 


The  Reform  Bill, 
1832. 


Total  Abolition 
of  Slavery, 
1834.  •* 


TABLES   OF   ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


457 


Writers. 


LORD  LYTTON 
(Edward  Bulwer). 

1805-1873. 

Novelist;  poet; 
dramatist;  M.  P.  ; 
Cabinet  Minister; 
peer. 


JOHN    STUART 
MILL. 

1806-1873. 

Clerk  in  the  East 
India  House  ;  philos- 
opher; political 
•writer;  M.P.  ;  Lord 
Rector  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  St  Andrews. 


HENRY  W. 

LONGFELLOW. 

1807-1882. 

Professor  of  Mod- 
ern Languages  and 
Literature  in  Harvard 
University,  U.  S.  ; 
poet;  prose-writer. 


LORD 

TENNYSON 

(Alfred  Tennyson). 

1809-1892 

Poet ;     poet  -  laure- 
ate; peer. 


ELIZABETH  B. 
BARRETT 

(afterwards 
Mrs  Browning). 

1809-1861. 

Poet :  prose-writer ; 
translator, 


Works. 


Ismael  and  Other  Poems 
(lb25) ;  Eugene  Aram 
(18:31) ;  Last  Days  of  Pom- 
peii (1834) ;  The  Caxtons 
(1849);  My  Novel  (1853); 
Poems  (1865). 


System  of  Logic  (1843) ;  Prin- 
ciples of  Political  Economy 
(1848)  ;  Essay  on  Liberty 
(1858)  ;  Autobiography 
(1873).  "For judicial  calm- 
ness, elevation  of  tone,  and 
freedom  from  personality, 
Mill  is  iinrivalled  among  the 
writers  of  his  time." 


Outre-Mer— a  Story  (1835) 
Hyperion— a  Story  (1839) 
Voices  of  the  Night  (1841) 
Evangeline    (1848) ;     Hia- 
watha (1855) ;    Aftermath 
(1873).       "His  tact  in  the 
use  of  language  is  probably 
the  chief  cause  of  his  suc- 
cess." 


Poems  (1830) ;  In  Memoriam 
(1850);  Maud(1855);  Idylls 
of  the  King  (1859-85);  Queen 
Mary  — a  Drama  (1875); 
Becket  —  a  Drama  (IS''^)  ; 
The  Foresters  —  a  Drama 
11892). 


Prometheus  Bound  —  trans- 
lated from  the  Greek  of 
^schylus  (1833) ;  Poems 
(1844);     Aurora     Leigh 

(1856);  and  Essays  con- 
tributed to  various  maga- 
zines. 


Contemporary 
Events. 


Queen      Victoria 
ascends       the 
throne,  1837. 


Irish   Famine, 
1845. 


De- 
cades. 


1840 


Repeal 
Corn 
1846. 


of     the 
Laws, 


Revolution  in 
Paris,  1851. 


Death  of  "Welling- 
ton, 1852. 


Napoleon  III. 
Emperor  of  the 
French,  1852, 


Russian 
1854-56. 


War, 


Franco -Austrian 
War,  1859. 


Emancipation  of 
Russian  serfs, 
1861. 


Austro  -  Prussian 
"  Seven  Weeks' 
War,"  1866. 


Suez    Canal    fin- 
ished, 1S09. 


1850 


1860 


458 


TABLES   OF  ENGLISH   LITERATURE. 


Writers. 


WILLIAM 

MAKEPEACE 

THACKERAY. 

1811-1863. 

Novelist;  writer  in 
■  Punch ' ;  artist. 


CHARLES 
DICKENS, 

1812-1870. 

Novelist. 


ROBERT 
BROWNING. 

1812-1889. 

Poet. 


JOHN  RUSKIN. 
1819-19OO. 

Art-critic ;  essay- 
ist; teacher;  liteiary 
man. 


Works. 


GEORGE  ELIOT. 
1819-1880. 

Novelist;    poet; 
essayist. 


ALGERNON 

CHARLES 

SWINBURNE. 

1837 • 

Lyric  poet ;  drama- 
tist; prose-writep. 


The  Paris  Sketch-Book 
(ISiO) ;  Vanity  Fair  (1847); 
Esmond  (1852);  The  New- 
comes  (1855);  The  Vir- 
ginians (1857).  The  great- 
est novelist  and  one  of  the 
most  perfect  stylists  of  the 
19th  century. 


Sketches  by  Boz  (1836) ;  The 
Pickwick  Papers  (1837) ; 
Oliver  Twist  (1838) ;  Nicho- 
las Nickleby  (1838);  and 
many  other  novels  and 
works  ;  Great  Expectations 
(186S).  The  most  popular 
writer  that  ever  lived. 


Pauline  (1833) ;    Paracelsus 

(1836)  ;  Poems  (1865)  ;  The 
Ring  and  the  Book  (1869) ; 
and  many  other  volumes  of 
poetry. 


Modern  Painters  (1843-60); 
The  Stones  of  Venice  (1851- 
53) ;  The  Queen  of  the  Air 
(1869) ;  An  Autobiography 
(1885) ;  and  very  many  other 
works.  *' He  has  a  deep, 
serious,  and  almost  fanatical 
reverence  for  art. " 


Scenes  of  Clerical  Life  (1858); 
Adam  Bede  (1859) ;  and 
many  other  novels  down  to 
Daniel  Deronda  (1876)  ; 
Spanish  Gypsy  (1868) ;  Le- 
gend of  Jubal  (1874). 


Atalanta  in  Calydon  (1864) ; 
Poems  and  Ballads  (three 
series,  1864,  '78,  and  '87) ; 
aud  many  other  poems. 
"The  greatest  metrical  in- 
ventor in  English  litera- 
ture." "His  music  is  like 
no  other  man's." 


Contemporary 
Events. 


Franco  -  Prussian 
War  1870-71. 


Third  French  Re- 
public, 1870. 


Home  the  new 
( apital  of  Italy, 
1871. 


Rupso  -  Turkish 
War   1877-78. 


Berlin  Congress 
and  Treaty, 
1878. 


Leo  XIII.   made 
Pope  in  1878. 


Assassination  of 
Alexander  II., 
1881. 


Arabi  Pasha's  Re- 
bellion, 1882-83. 


War  in  the  Sou- 
dan, 1SS4. 


Murder    of   Gor- 
don, 1885. 


New  Reform  Bill, 
1885. 


War  of  the 
U.S.A.  against 
Spain,  1898. 

Anglo-Boer  War, 

1899. 

Death  of  Queen 
Victoria,  1901. 


INDEX. 


PART    I. 


A-bsolute,  nominative,  66. 
Adjectives,  28. 

comparison  of,  32. 
defective,  34. 
Irregular,  33. 
compound,  formation  of,  117. 
demonstrative,  29. 
inflection  of,  31. 
numeral,  29. 
qualitative,  28. 
quantitative,  29. 
suffixes  to,  English,  131. 

Latin  and  French,  138. 
syntax  of,  71. 
Adjective  pronouns  (so-called),  29,  30. 
Adverbs,  57. 

classification  of,  57. 
comparison  of,  57. 

irregular,  58. 
formation  of,  118. 
syntax  of,  83. 
Alphabet,  what  it  is,  7. 

conditions  of  a  perfect,  7. 
the  English,  very  defective,  7,  8. 
Analysis  of  sentences,  86-115. 
complex  sentence,  lOfi. 
(cautions),  107. 
mapping-out  of,  109. 
compound  sentence.  111. 
'•  continuous"  method  of,  111. 
"  pigeon-hole  "  method  of,  110. 
simple  sentence,  87. 
(cautions) ,  93. 
mapping-out  of,  100. 
Anomalous  verbs,  53. 
Antecedent,  26. 
Apposition,  22. 
Articles  (so-called),  29. 
Auxiliary  verbs,  48,  53. 


Be^  conjugation  of,  50. 
Branching  of  words,  143-153. 

Cardinal  numerals,  30. 
Case,  19. 

dative,  21. 

different  cases,  with  their  uses,  Ql\ 

nominaiive,  20. 

objective,  22. 

possessive,  20. 

vocative,  20,  22. 
Cognate  object,  22. 
Comparison  of  adjectives,  32. 

defective,  34. 

irregular,  33. 

of  adverbs,  57. 

irregular,  58. 
Compound  adjectives,  formation  of,  IIZ 

adverbs,  formation  of,  119. 

nouns,  formation  of,  116. 

verbs,  formation  of,  118. 
Concord,  rules  of,  76. 
Conjugation  of  verba,  42. 

specimen  of  full,  54. 
Conjunctions,  60. 

syntax  of,  84. 
Conjunctive  (or  relative)  pronouns,  20i 
Connectives,  58. 
Consonant,  5. 

sounds,  table  of,  6. 

Dative  case,  21. 

syntax  of,  69. 
Demonstrative  adjectives,  29. 
Dentals,  5,  6. 

Derivation,  word-building  and,  116-17L 
Derivations  from  English  roots,  144. 

from  Greek  roots,  152. 

from  Latin  roots,  147. 


460 


INDEX. 


Derivations   from    names    of   persons, 
etc.,  154. 
from  names  of  places,  158. 
of  words  disguised  in  form,  161. 
of  words  greatly  changed  in  mean- 
ing, 168. 
Diphthongs,  5. 

English  Inseparable  prefixes,  120. 
roots  and  branches,  144. 
separable  prefixes,  121. 
suffixes  to  adjectives,  131. 
to  adverbs,  133. 
to  nouns,  128. 
to  verbs, 134. 
English  language,  grammar  of,  4. 
origin  and  development  of,  4. 
Etymology,  5,  8-63. 
Extension  of  predicate,  95. 

Factitive  object,  22. 

French  derivations,  etc.,  included  under 

Latin. 
Functions,  words  known  by  their,  61. 

Gender,  11. 

indicated  by  different  words,  14. 

indicated  by  prefixes,  13. 

indicated  by  suffixes,  12. 

Latin  and  French  suffixes  of,  13. 
Gerund,  39. 

Gerundial  infinitive,  82. 
Government  of  verbs,  78. 
Grammar,  4. 

of  letters,  T. 

of  sounds,  6. 

of  words,  8-63. 

parts  of,  4. 
Greek  prefixes,  126. 

roots,  152. 

suffixes,  141. 
Gutturals,  5,  6. 

ffave,  conjugation  of,  49. 

Inflexion  of  adjectives,  31. 

of  nouns,  11. 

of  pronouns,  24,  25. 

of  verbs,  36. 
Inseparable  prefixes,  English,  120. 
Interjections,  60. 
Interrogative  pronouns,  25. 
^transitive  verbs,  35. 


Irregular  weak  verbs,  46. 

Kinds  of  words,  8. 

known  by  functions,  61. 

Labials,  5,  6. 
Language,  what  it  is,  3. 

epoken  and  written,  8. 
Latin  prefixes,  123. 

roots,  147. 

suffixes  to  adjectives,  138, 
to  nouns,  134. 
to  verbs,  141. 
Letters,  grammar  of,  T. 

redundant,  8. 

Moods,  38. 

syntax  of,  80. 
Mutes,  5,  6. 

Nominative  case,  2(1 

absolute,  66. 

of  address,  97. 

syntax  of,  64. 
Nouns,  9. 

abstract,  10. 

classification  of,  9. 

class-names,  10. 

collective,  10. 

common,  10. 

compound,  formation  of,  116. 

English  suffixes  to,  128. 

inflexions  of,  11. 

Latin  and  French  suffixes  to,  134i 

proper,  9. 

syntax  of,  64-71. 
Number  of  nouns,  15. 

of  verbs, 42. 
Numeral  adjectives,  29. 
Numerals,  30. 

Object,  cognate,  22. 

factitive,  22. 

reflexive,  22. 
Objective  case,  22. 

syntax  of,  68. 
Ordinal  numerals,  31. 
Orthography,  5. 

Palatals,  6. 
Participle,  40. 
Passive  voice,  37. 
Person  of  verbs,  42. 
Persons,  words  derived  from  names  o( 
154. 


INDEX. 


461 


Places,  words  derived   from  names  of, 

158. 
Plurals,  false,  17. 

foreign,  18. 

modes  of  forming,  19. 

of  compound  words,  19. 

treated  as  singulars,  18. 

words  used  only  in  their,  18. 

words  with  two,  17. 
Possessive  case,  20. 

syntax  of,  67. 
Predicate  of  sentence,  89. 
Prefixes,  103. 

English  inseparable,  120. 

English  separable,  121. 

Greek,  126. 

Latin,  123. 

to  indicate  gender,  13. 
Prepositions,  58. 

list  of  special,  84. 

syntax  of,  83. 
Pronouns,  23. 

indefinite,  27. 

inflexions  of,  24,  25. 

interrogative,  25. 

personal ,  23. 

reflexive,  25. 

relative  (or  conjunctive),  26. 

syntax  of,  74. 

Qualitative  adjectives,  28. 
Quantitative  adjectives,  29. 

Reflexive  pronouns,  25. 

Relative  (or  conjunctive)  pronouns,  26. 

Roots  and  branches,  143-153. 

English,  144. 

Greek,  152. 

Latin,  147. 

Sentences,  analysis  of,  86-115. 

contracted,  87. 

complex,  102. 

compound,  111. 

simple,  87. 
Separable  prefixes,  English,  121. 
Shall,  conjugation  of,  48. 
Sounds,  grammar  of,  6. 
Spirants,  6. 

Strike,  conjugation  of,  54. 
Strong  and  weak  verbs,  43. 
Strong  verbs,  list  of,  44. 
Subject,  what  it  may  consist  of,  88. 


Suffixes,  128. 

English,  to  adjectives,  131. 

to  adverbs,  133. 

to  nouns,  128. 

to  verbs,  134. 
Greek,  141. 
Latin,  to  adjectives,  138. 

to  indicate  gender,  13t 

to  nouns,  134. 

to  verbs,  141. 
to  indicate  gender,  12. 
Superlative  degree,  32. 
Syntax,  5,  64-85. 

of  the  adjective,  71. 
of  the  adverb,  83. 
of  the  conjunction,  84. 
of  the  dative,  69. 
of  the  nominative,  64. 
of  the  noun,  64. 
of  the  objective,  68. 
of  the  possessive,  67. 
of  the  preposition,  83. 
of  the  pronoun,  74. 
of  the  verb,  76. 

Tense,  41. 

Transitive  and  intransitive  verba,  tii 

Verbs,  34. 

auxiliary,  36,  48. 

classification  of,  35. 

compound,^formation  of,  118. 

concord  of,  76. 

conjugation  of,  42. 

specimen  of  full;  54. 

defective,  53. 

government  of,  78. 

inflexions  of,  36. 

moods  of,  38, 80. 

notional,  48. 

number  of,  42. 

person  of,  42. 

strong  and  weak,  43. 

strong,  list  of,  44. 

suffixes  to,  English,  134. 
Latin,  141. 

syntax  of,  76. 

tense,  of,  41. 

voice  of,  37. 

weak  and  strong,  43. 

weak,  list  of  irregular,  46. 
two  kinds  of,  45. 
Vocative  case,  20,  22. 


462 


INDEX. 


Voice,  active,  37. 

passive,  37. 
Vowel,  6. 

Weak  and  strong  verbs,  43. 
Weak  verbs,  irregular,  46. 

two  kinds  of,  45. 
Will,  conjugation  of,  48. 


Word-branching,  143-153. 
Word-building  and  derivation,  116-171. 
Word  from  English  roots,  144. 

from  Greek  roots,  152. 

from  Latin  roots,  147. 
Words,  grammar  of  (Etymology),  8-63. 

kinds  of,  8. 

known  by  their  functions,  61. 


PART    II. 


Abstract  versus  concrete,  183. 

Accents  in  verse,  194,  195. 

Accurate  English,  178. 

Admiration,  point  of,  188. 

Adverb,  position  of  the,  185. 

Alexandrine,  199. 

Allegory,  191, 

Amphibrach,  196. 

Amphibrachic  tetrameter,  200. 

Anapaest,  196. 

Anapaestic  tetrameter,  200. 

And  which,  186. 

Antecedent  and  Relative,  to  be  clearly 

connected,  186. 
Antithesis,  182. 

Ballad  metre,  198. 
Blank  verse,  197. 
Brevity,  179. 

Caesura,  203. 

Circumlocution,  185. 

Clearness, 178. 

Coleridge's  examples  and  descriptions 

of  different  metres,  201. 
Colon,  187. 
Comma,  188. 
Compactness,  179. 
Composition,  hints  on,  175. 

cautions,  general,  184. 
special,  185. 

directions,  general,  176. 
Concrete  versus  abstract,  183. 
Conjunctions,  omission  of,  181. 
Couplet,  204. 

Dactyl,  196. 
Dactylic  dimeter,  200. 

tetrameter,  200. 
Daah,  188. 


Defective  lines,  201. 

Dependent,   and   principal     sentences 

not  to  be  mixed  up,  186. 
Detail,  184. 

Dimeter,  dactylic,  200. 
Distinctness  of  style,  183. 

Elegiac  verse,  204. 
Emphasis,  180. 
English,  accurate,  178. 

flowing,  179. 

good, 176. 

pure,  177. 
Epigram,  182. 
Exaggerated  language,  186. 
Exaggeration  (hyperbole),  191. 
Exclamation,  mark  of,  181. 

Figures  of  speech,  189. 
Flowing  English,  179. 
Foot  (in  verse),  195. 
Full  stop,  187. 

Good  English,  176. 

Hackneyed  phrases,  184. 

Half -rhymes,  202. 

"Happy    Life,     The,"  —  paraphrasedj 

193. 
Heroic  couplet,  204. 

verse,  197. 
Hexameter,  127. 

iambic,  198. 
Hyperbole  (exaggeration),  191. 
Hypermetrical  lines,  201. 

Iambic  hexameter,  198. 
pentameter,  197, 198. 
tetrameter,  197, 198. 
trimeter,  197. 


IJJ^DEX. 


463 


Iambus,  195. 

Imperative  mood,  the  use  of,  in  compo- 

eition,  181. 
Interrogation,  point  of,  188. 
Interrogative  form  (for  emphasis),  181. 
Inversion,  180, 

Loose  sentence,  164, 180. 

Metaphor,  190. 

Metonymy,  191. 

Metres,  examples  and  descriptions   of 

the  different,  by  Coleridge,  201. 
Misplaced  phrases,  187. 
Mixed  metaphors,  185. 

Octave  (ottava  rima),  204. 

(in  the  sonnet),  205. 
Octometer,  trochaic,  199. 

Paraphrase  of  «' The  Happy  Life,"  193. 

Paraphrasing,  192. 

Parenthesis,  188. 

Participles,  management  of,  185. 

present,  185. 
Pentameter,  197, 198. 
Period  (full  stop),  187. 
Period  (sentence),  179, 180. 
Periphrasis,  181. 
Personification,  190. 
Principal  and  dependent  sentences,  not 

to  be  mixed  up,  186. 
Pronouns,  management  of,  184. 
Prosody  (grammar  of  verse),  194-201. 
Punctuation,  187. 
Pure  English,  177. 

Quatrain,  204. 

Relative  and  antecedent,  to  be  clearly 

connected,  186. 
Repetition,  181, 182. 
Rhyme,  200. 
Rhythm,  to  be  cultivated    by  reading 

aloud,  179. 


Semicolon,  187. 

Service  metre,  198. 

Sestette,  205. 

Sextant,  204. 

Simile,  189. 

Simplicity,  178. 

Skeleton  of  theme  to  be  written,  176. 

Sonnet,  205. 

Specification,  183. 

Spenserian  stanza,  204. 

Spondee,  201. 

Stanza,  204, 

Subject  of  sentence,  not  to  be  changed, 

186. 
Suspense,  182. 
Synecdoche.  191. 
Synonyms,  178. 

Tautology,  185. 
Tetrameter,  197. 

amphibrachic,  200. 

anapaestic,  200. 

dactylic,  200. 

iambic,  197, 198. 

trochaic,  199. 
That  and  who  distinguished,  186. 
Trimeter,  197. 
Triplet,  204. 

tetrameter,  204. 
Trochaic  octometer,  199. 
Trochee,  195. 

Unrhymed  (blank)  verse,  197. 

Vague  sentence,  contrasted  with  specific, 

183. 
Verbosity,  179. 

Verse,    different    from     Prose    in    two 
things,  194. 
grammar  of  (Prosody),  194-201. 

Which  and  and  which,  186. 
Who  and  that  distinguished,  186. 


PART    III. 


African  words  in  English,  341. 
American  words  in  English,  341. 
Analytic  English  (=  modern) ,  317. 
Ancient  English,  277. 

synthetic,  317. 
Anglo-Saxon,  specimen  from,  328. 


Anglo-Saxon,  contrasted  with  English 

of  Wyclif  and  Tyndale,  329. 
Arabic  words  in  English,  341. 
Aryan  family  of  languages,  273, 

Bible,  English  of  the,  334. 


464 


IXDEX. 


Bilingualism,  300. 

Changes  of  language,  never  sudden,  276. 
Chinese  words  in  English,  342. 

Dead  and  living  languages,  276. 

Dialects  of  English,  316. 

Doublets,  English  and  other,  314-316. 

Greek,  311. 

Latin,  30S-311. 
Dutch  and  Welsh  contrasted,  275. 

words  in  English,  338. 

English,  272. 

a  Low-German  tongue,  274. 

diagram  of,  281.  . 

dialects  of,  316. 

early  and  oldest,  compared,  330. 

elements  of,  characteristics  of    the 

two,  312-314. 
English  element  in,  280. 
foreign  elements  in,  282. 
grammar  of,  its  history,  317-327. 
its  spread  over  Britain,  275. 
modern,  336-343. 
nation,  280. 
of  the  Bible,  334. 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  332. 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  333. 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  334. 
on  the  Continent,  272. 
periods  of,  276-279. 

marks  which  distinguish,  332. 
syntax  of,  changed,  323. 
the  family  to  which  it  belongs,  273. 
the  group  to  which  it  belongs,  273, 

274. 
vocabulary  of,  280-316. 

Foreign  elements  in  English,  282. 
French  (new)  words  in  English,  339. 
(Norman),  see  Norman-French. 

German  words  in  English,  340. 
Grammar  of  English,  317-327. 

comparatively  fixed     (since  1485), 

336. 
First  Period,  318. 

general  view  of  its  history,  321. 
Second  Period,  319. 

short  view   of  its  history,  317- 
321. 
Third  Period,  320. 
Fourth  Period,  320. 


Greek  doublets,  311. 
Gutturals,  expulsion  of,  324-326. 

Hebrew  words  in  English,  340. 
Hindu  words  in  English,  342. 
History  of  English,  landmarks  in,  344. 
Hungarian  words  in  English,  342. 

Indo-European  family,  273. 
Inflexions   in  different    periods,    coov 
pared, 331. 

loss  of,  317,318. 

grammatical  result  of  loss,  326. 
Italian  words  in  English,  337. 

Keltic  element  in  English,  282-284. 

Landmarks  in  the  history  of  English, 

344. 
Language,  271. 

changes  of,  276.  ^ 
growth  of,  271. 
living  and  dead,  276. 
spoken  and  written,  281. 
written,  271. 
Latin  contributions  and  their  dates,  287. 
doublets,  308-311. 
element  in  English,  286-311. 
of  the  eye  and  ear,  308. 
of  the  First  Period,  288. 
Second  Period,  289,  290. 
Third  Period,  290-305. 
Fourth  Period,  305-308. 
triplets,  311. 
Lord's  Prayer,  in  four   versions,  329- 
330. 

Malay  words  in  English,  342. 
Middle  English,  278. 
Modern  English,  279,  336-343. 

analytic,  317. 
Monosyllables,  322. 

New  words  in  English,  336-343. 
Norman-French,  290. 

bilingualism  caused  by,  300. 

contributions,  general  character  of, 
298. 

dates  of,  291-293. 

element  in  English,  290-305. 

gains  to  English  from,  299-302. 

losses  to  English  from,  303-306, 

synonyms,  300. 

words,  294-298. 


INDEX. 


465 


Oldest  and  early  English  compared,  330. 
Order  of  words  in  English,  changed, 
323. 

Periods  of  English,  276-279. 
Ancient,  277. 
Early,  277. 
Middle,  278. 
Tudor,  279. 
Modern,  279. 
grammar  of  the  different,  317-327. 
marks  indicating  different,  332. 
specimens  of  different,  328-335. 
Persian  words  in  English,  342. 
Polynesian  words  in  English,  342. 
Portuguese  words  in  English,  342. 

Renascence  (Revival  of  Learning]),  305. 
Russian  words  in  English,  342. 

Scandinavian  element  in  English,  284- 

286. 
Scientific  terms  in  English,  343. 
Spanish  words  in  English,  337. 


Specimens     of    English     of    different 

periods,  328-335. 
Spoken  and  written  language,  281. 
Syntax  of  English,  change  in,  323. 
Synthetic  English  (=:  ancient),  317. 

Tartar  words  in  English,  342. 
Teutonic  group,  273. 
Tudor  English ,  279. 
Turkish  words  in  English,  342. 
Tyndale's     English,     compared     with 
Anglo-Saxon  and  Wyclif ,  329. 

Vocabulary  of   the  English    language, 
280-316. 

"Welsh  and  Dutch  contrasted,  275. 
Words     and    inflexions    in     different 
periods,  compared,  331. 
new,  in  English,  336-343. 
Written  language,  271. 

and  spoken,  281. 
Wyclif's  English,  compared  with  Tyn. 
dale's  and  Anglo-Saxon,  329. 


PART    IV. 


Addison,  Joseph,  393. 
Alfred,  354. 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle^  354. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  437. 
Austen,  Jane,  426. 

Bacon,  Francis,  377. 

Baeda  (Venerable  Bede),  353. 

Barbour,  John,  363. 

Beowulf,  351. 

Blake,  William,  412. 

Browning,  Robert,  436. 

Browning,  Mrs.,  435. 

Brunanburg ,  Song  oft  353. 

Brunne,  Robert  of,  357. 

Brut,  355. 

Bunyan,  John,  387. 

Burke,  Edmund,  404. 

Burns,  Robert,  410. 

Butler,  Samuel,  882. 

Byron,  George  Gordon,  Lord,  421. 

Caedmon,  352. 
Campbell,  Thomas,  420. 


Carlyle,  Thomas,  427. 
Caxton,  William,  366. 
Chatterton,  Thomas,  411. 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  361. 

followers  of,  365. 
Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor,  418. 
Collins,  William,  399. 
Cowper,  William,  407. 
Crabbe,  George,  409. 

Defoe,  Daniel,  390. 
De  Quincey,  Thomas,  426. 
Dickens,  Charles,  439. 
Dryden,  John,  383. 

Eliot,  George,  442. 

Gibbon,  Edward,  405. 
Gloucester,  Robert  of,  357, 
Goldsmith,  Oliver,  403. 
Gower,  John,  360. 
Gray,  Thomas,  398. 

Hobbes,  Thomas,  386. 
Hooker,  Richard,  374. 


466 


INDEX. 


James  I.  (of  Scotland),  365. 
Johnson,  Samuel,  401, 
Jonson,  Ben,  373. 

Keats,  John,  423. 

Lamb,  Charles,  424. 

Landor,  Walter  Savage,  425. 

Langlande,  William,  360. 

Layaraon,  355. 

Locke,  John,  387. 

Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth,  432. 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babington,  429. 
Maldon,  Song  of  the  Fight  at,  353. 
Mandeville,  Sir  John,  359. 
Marlowe,  Christopher,  373. 
Milton,  John,  381. 
Moore,  Thomas,  420. 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  368. 
Morris,  William,  438. 

Orm's  Ormulum,  356. 

Pope,  Alexander,  395, 397. 


Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  376. 
Ruskin,  .John,  441. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  417. 
Shakespeare,  William,  370,  379. 

contemporaries  of,  372. 
Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe,  422. 
Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  375. 
Southey,  Robert,  419. 
Spenser,  Edmund,  369. 
Steele,  Richard,  394. 
Surrey,  Earl  of,  367. 
Swift,  Jonathan,  391. 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  385. 
Tennyson,  Alfred,  433. 
Thackeray,  William  Makepeace,  439. 
Thomson,  James,  397,  398, 
Tyndale,  William,  368. 

Wordsworth,  William,  415, 
Wyatt,  Sir  Thomas,  367. 
WycUf ,  John,  360. 


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